Old dogs, New tricks
by Johnathan soulless
Summary: Beacon has fallen to the white fang, Ruby and Blake have been separated from the rest of their team. They hurriedly tried to escape, but an old man suffering at the hands of a mugger caught their attention.
1. Rusty

The old man panted as he leaned against the wall, a small amount of blood escaping the corner of his mouth. He steadied himself on his walking stick, staring down the young thief. It was true, he hadn't been lying about his strength, and he showed no signs of fatigue.

"Gimme everything you got, last chance"! The mugger shouted at the old man, cracking his fists threateningly.

"I've already told you" the old man pleaded, trying to steady his breathing "I'm a farmer, I don't use money."

"Don't give me that bullshit, everybody uses money here, how'd you even get here if you don't got cash"?!

The thief had lost his patience. He lashed out at the old man with a hard punch. The old man, remembering his training, braced himself. A long, piercing scream echoed through the streets of Vale. The Oldman who had been bracing for impact, followed by a sharp re-acquaintance with the ground, opened his eyes. They immediately widened.

Red.

He could not see the mugger for the large red cloak, billowing before him was obscuring the old man's vision. However, when gravity inevitably took effect and the cloak fell, the old man saw what had happened. He gasped at the gory sight before him.

The muggers strike had never reached him, for his fist had instead been impaled on a hulking scythe blade, held firmly by the red hooded figure. Directing his eyes down, the old man also saw that a second figure, shrouded in shadow had stabbed the muggers shoulder. This perfectly timed assault had rendered the poor bastard quite incapacitated.

The old man was weak at the knees from the abuse he had suffered, and couldn't bring himself to run, or even back away. After the mugger writhed in agony for a few moments, the mysterious pair let him go. They each withdrew their weapons from his flesh and allowed him to slump to the floor, whimpering in pain and fear.

The old man's eyes had adjusted more to the murkiness of the ally and he got a better look at the duo. The shadowy figure was a girl, clad in black. A long travelling cloak hung around her shoulders and her hands were bound in brown gloves. Her black hair fell untidily beside her yellow eyes. Atop her head was a little black bow. In her right hand, she held a funny sort of Knife, sword…gun whip…thingy, (The old man did henceforth refer to it as the 'thingy').

The red figure was kneeling down besides the bleeding man and spoke softly to him in a young lady's voice.

"Hold still."

The old man couldn't see what she was doing but her body began to glow as she knelt and when she stood up a few moments later, the mugger was laying on the floor, completely healed of his injuries. He stared disbelievingly at his hand and felt his neck, expecting blood or pain but found none. Realising that he could now do so, the mugger scrambled to his feet and ran for his life. The red girl called out to him, somewhat lamely:

"Please don't do it again"!

She then sighed, transformed her weapon skilfully into a small sniper rifle, and placed it on her lower back beneath her cloak. Taking down her hood, she turned to the old man, who could now see her clear as day. She was a pretty girl no older than eighteen, with red highlights in her jet black hair. She wore an outfit that one would have mistaken for maids attire if they did not look properly, for its pallet was black and red (and not particularly sexy, not that this crossed the old man's mind, for he was a prude and such things did not occur to him).

Her exposed knees were pink and clearly frostbitten and her boots were muddy. The scarlet cloak around her neck and shoulders was held in place by a handsome silver broach of a rose. Her face was fair and cute and her eyes were deep silver. They were the peculiar thing about her. They seem to cut through the gloom as if it was dawn.

The girl smiled at the old man and approached him. She spoke in a sweet, friendly tone.

"Hi, are you okay. Sorry we couldn't've gotten here sooner, here…let me see… "

She began to check the man over for injuries, checking his face for scratches and testing for any broken bones. She assumed given his age, such a beating would've caused some permanent damage. She was shocked however, to find nothing. Not a scratch on the guy and his bones all checked out.

"Woah…you must have some tough aura"

"We can't stay here long" muttered the other girl. "Hurry up and let's get out of here."

The red girl finished checking the old man and turned to her. She looked weary.

"We've been running for hours, I doubt he'll consider us much of a threat right now."

But the girl in black wasn't listening; she was looking around the ally way, checking for anyone who might be coming. She seemed jumpy as hell.

"You really don't think you can beat him, do you"

The girl in black did not answer right away. She looked away from the red girl before replying.

"You saw what happened...how strong he is."

The red girl kicked a discarded soup can in protest.

"We could've taken him, if you hadn't frozen up like that-"

"I can't…I…I don't…part of me still loves him."

The red girls face contorted in fury, but she spoke in an almost deathly whisper

"Love him? After what he did to Beacon, to all those people, to my sister"?

"He still loves me somewhere inside"!

"Really"!? The red girl shouted. "Was it the part that stabbed you or the part that mutilated Yang?"

"Um…Excuse me"?

The heated conversation was diffused by the interjection of a very confused old man. He did not for the life of him know what these girls were shouting about.

The girl in black blushed with embarrassment; she had clearly forgotten that he was present. The red girl made a squeaking noise and immediately stepped forward.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, we haven't introduced ourselves. My name is Ruby Rose, and this is my team mate, Blake."

"Belladonna…charmed" Blake said quickly only looking at the old man for a moment before turning back to Ruby. "In any case, it's not safe here anymore, the White Fang are everywhere and they're attacking any humans on sight."

"Oh, I guess they love us then- I'm touched" Ruby muttered sarcastically under her breath.

"Are you two running from the law or something?" the old man probed uncertainly. If these girls were fugitives, they were the most pleasant criminals he had ever seen, so young as well.

"No no no" Ruby said exasperatedly. "We're huntresses".

The old man scratched his beard and frowned.

"Sorry miss…err- Rose, but I'm not from around this place, what exactly do you hunt?"

Ruby face palmed and began to wish she could start arguing with Blake again instead of this.

"We hunt the creatures of Grimm; you know what they are right?"

"Well yeah, they're those nasty black and white creatures that attack my farm sometimes. But they're never too hard to handle."

"Yes bu-"

Ruby stopped talking and started, flabbergasted at the old man. Blake was looking at him curiously as well. The old man began to feel taken aback; he hadn't said something strange or anything. Even so, they looked at him like he was some sort of strange creature they'd never seen before.

"You fight Grimm?" Ruby asked, sounding mystified.

"Well…yeah"

Ruby and Blake continued to stare at him, their faces wrought with disbelief. This decrepit old geezer had been going toe to toe with the creatures of Grimm? It just didn't add up. Was he a hunter or Just a powerful civilian?

"Would'ya please stop staring at me like that" the old man said amusedly.

But Ruby and Blake would not stop. They were scanning the old guy with their eyes, trying to locate what it was that gave him the strength to take on such terrible foes. A weapon, a secret supply of dust, something!

"How did you say you defended your farm again"? Ruby asked, slowly and clearly.

"Same way I did everything when I was young" said the man. "By punchin' em."

…

Silence rang across the ally once again.

"P...Punching" gasped Ruby.

"I see" muttered Blake.

The old man was starting to get inside these two confused girls heads. True fighting off those things was normal for him to do with his fists, but this culture was used to using weapons after all.

"It's normal where I'm from" The old man added quickly, as the two huntresses were looking quite at a loss for words.

"But how do you…I mean…that's impossible." Ruby started at the old man as she stated this. He couldn't actually be telling the truth…could he?

The old man straightened up slightly and raised his hand towards the sky.

"Here, I'll show ya."

With slightly pained look on his face, the old man tensed his body and his hand began to glow. The yellow light flared up into a blaze. Ruby and Blake watched in silent amazement. It was like his hand was on fire. Angling his hand straight up, so as to not injure anyone, the old man gritted his teeth in effort and a huge ball of golden energy shot with a startling speed from his hand and lit up the sky like a firework. Ruby and Blake watched it go; it must have exited the atmosphere at such a speed.

"That was amazing" Ruby's voice sounded dreamy, still in awe of the spectacle.

"Yes that was quite impressive, how did -hey"! Blake exclaimed as the old man nearly collapsed, only managing to steady himself with his walking stick.

"Are you ok" Blake said as she took the old man's arm over her shoulder to steady him.

"Y-yeah…sorry about this" the old man stammered out, panting hard. Not as tough as I used to …geez… used to be so easy…"

The man seemed to sag a little more under the weight of his fatigue. This time Ruby had dashed to his other shoulder, supporting him fully now.

"We should get out of here" Blake whispered, very seriously. "Do you have a home sir"?

"Of course" the old man said weakly. "I'll show you."

Picking up his walking stick with her free hand, Blake and Ruby left the ally way, carrying the mysterious old man to his home.


	2. Farm life

"You live here"?!

Blake stared, appalled at the rickety little shack in the centre of a ploughed up field full of turnips that apparently constituted a farm.

"Yup" said the old man simply. "It's been broken a lot though, so we needed to patch it up."

Ruby turned her head towards the old guys face, looking puzzled.

"We"?

The old man chuckled; clearly embarrassed that he had forgotten to mention he didn't necessarily live alone, though the old man didn't think that his friend would be home.

"Someone shares it with me, but he never stays for long" the old man explained. "He comes every now and then for some food and then goes back to training."

Crossing the turnip laden ground while carrying this old man wasn't easy, but the two girls managed to haul him to his front door and awkwardly lower him into a chair on the porch. He leaned back and exhaled deeply.

"Thank you, thank you both" the old man bowed his head to Ruby and Blake. "Please stay as long as ya like."

Blake had already turned to go, but Ruby stayed put, shuffling her feet. Her face looked nervous and kind of embarrassed.

"Um…can I ask you something mister..."?

"Goku, but some of my friends used to call me Son" the old man smiled, and Ruby was glad she could stop mentally referring to him as 'strong old guy.'

Blake was looking restless and eager to get back to civilization. She kept pacing and tapping her foot, her lips tight.

"Mr. Goku, I have a favour to ask"

"Shoot"

"Could you please show us how you-"

"KAKAROOOOT"!

Ruby was cut off by a booming voice coming from inside the house. It sounded sharp and irritable, and promptly scared the living hell out of Ruby, causing her to dash behind Blake. Blake simply stood fast, her hand on her weapon as the rugged old door exploded open. The short figure in the door frame was another old man with untidy black hair, but this one had a large widow's peak and a look on his face that could turn milk sour. A vein was throbbing unpleasantly in his temple, he was bearing his teeth and his fists were clenched.

"Oh, I guess he's home after all" said Goku calmly.

The angry shouting man stormed out onto the porch and walked furiously over to where Goku was sitting, completely ignoring the two strange girls. His anger didn't seem to worry Goku at all.

"I told you that pork was mine!" the angry man raged at Goku, who looked as though he was attempting to remember something. "You idiot, you brainless moron, yo-"!

The man halted his rant momentarily as he noticed the two bewildered young ladies, who had been slowly backing away as the angry little man had grown into a towering temper. His expression became slightly looser as his eyebrows raised.

His stare made Blake's sword had start to sweat, though she was hardly going to release it. Ruby was peering out from behind her, nervously.

"Who the hell are you supposed to be"!? He shot at the girls, who were rooted to the spot. The man wasn't making any kind of threatening gesture, he was standing quite stationary. But an intangible aura of power emanated from him as he yelled.

"Well, spit it out"! He rounded on Goku again, his voice a little angrier at addressing him again. "Hey- Kakarot"!

Goku looked up suddenly, an embarrassed look on his face. "Oh yeah, that pork was yours- sorry about that."

The short guys expression contorted even further at this dopey response, he was clearly at the end of his tether. Blake could literally feel Ruby shaking as she hid behind her, and Blake didn't blame her. There was an oddly powerful force in the air, something she had only felt once before, while fighting Ada-

"PAY ATTENTION CLOWN, WHO THE HELL ARE THESE INGRAITS"?!

"I owe these girls, Vegeta" Goku said happily, but a pained expression worked its way onto his face, as though he knew he was about to be told off by the teacher. "See this guy was trying to mug me in an ally, but these two jumped in and took care of him." Vegeta looked back at the two huntresses, sneered and looked slowly back at Goku with an expression of the deepest disgust.

"How in the hell did you get to be such a pathetic weakling"?! He spat, disapproval palpable in his voice.

"I told you last time" Goku said with a sad smile. "Chichi."

A long silence rang out over the porch. Ruby and Blake didn't know who Chichi was, but this was enough to make someone as bad tempered as this Vegeta guy look slightly guilty at his choice of words.

"You…y-you know that's not what I meant" Vegeta scowled as he turned away, his anger miraculously diffused. Instead he turned to the two huntresses and spoke, his anger mounting now that he wasn't looking at Goku. "You have no business here, so get lost"!

"We were just leaving"! Blake shot back angrily; she didn't like this guy's attitude but couldn't shake that palpable feeling of power he emitted. "Come on Ruby."

Blake had already turned to go, pulling Ruby by her cape, encouraging her to follow. This guy was clearly not in the mood for saying 'thank you'. Ruby may have objected if Goku had not done it first.

"Hey, hang on a second." Goku was on his feet again and walking forward with a courteous smile. "I think the least we could do is feed you both."

Both of the girl's stomachs gave an ironically timed growl at this proposition. It was true that neither of them had eaten in a long time. The fall of beacon had robbed them of any kind of breakfast and they had been too worried for their lives to eat dinner the previous day. Due to these difficult circumstances, Blake and Ruby felt heavily inclined to take a free meal. But the looming threat of this Vegeta was still causing an involuntary trembling in the pit of their stomachs as well.

However, Vegeta did not yell or object in any way, he simply looked at Goku with a furious scowl and disappeared back into the house. I suppose that was his way of saying 'oh fine then'. Blake was still a little apprehensive but her stomach was really starting to hurt and she also had Ruby's wellbeing to worry about too. She decided she had to accept once Ruby had run up to Goku and grabbed his hand with a grateful glittery look in her hungry eyes.

"Oh my god thank you, it's been so long since we last had food". She then turned to Blake and started waving at her and shouting for her to come over. "Blake it's okay, THEY HAVE FOOD"!

With a slight smile at the absurdity of all this, Blake did follow Ruby and all three disappeared into the little house.

* * *

The Ursa had done pretty well in defending itself over the years; it had survived long enough to assist in taking down beacon. However, it didn't seem that all of those victories were going to help it, as it was held down by the boot of a very angry Adam Taurus. In a fit of rage, the Ursa was impaled through the chest and flung over the Cliffside of beacon academy.

Adam stood there for a moment, clutching his Katana and breathing heavily. He couldn't stand it, he had been so close and she had somehow escaped. He could remember exactly how it had happened, even though the whole thing probably only lasted for about 5 seconds. After her busty blonde friend had been…disarmed, his attention had fallen back on his beloved. But just before he could finish her off, a strange red mist appeared in front of her and a series of small red things hit him in the face, obstructing his view and caused his blade to cut a beam that was holding up part of the ceiling.

As the ceiling had started to crumble in on itself, he had seen two things, his beloved in the arms of some human in a red cloak, and that loudmouth bitch from before lying unconscious on the other side of the room…it the arms of someone he instantly recognised. White hair, dust weapon, blue eyes and a scowl that could make a lemon seem the sweetest thing in the world. It was a Schnee. Adam had not known what to do for a change. True his beloved Blake took priority, but he would've taken great satisfaction in gutting that other bitch as well.

Unfortunately, there was no time to make a choice, the ceiling had already fallen in and had created a great stone barrier that separated him from his prey. Once victory had been secured, He had ordered a full search of Beacon academy, trying to find either of the two pairs, but to no avail.

'It doesn't matter how far you run…I _will_ always find you, my dear' Adam thought wolfishly to himself. His scouts had just arrived in the empty food court in which Adam had been venting his anger.

"Have you found anything" Adam demanded of his scout leader, who stood in crisp salute. He did have any news that his boss wanted to hear.

"Blake is gone, so is the red huntress. No sign of the other two eithe-"

The scouts report, as well as his torso was cut short by Adam's blade slicing through him. His expression did not have time to even change as his top half slid to the already bloodstained floor.

"Useless"! Adam spat as he walked away in search of something else to vent upon. He doubled back, intent on taking out his aggression on the other scout, who recoiled in fear as he belted out the only piece of information he had.

"I saw something weird in the sky as we swept the city."

Adam stopped his advance, but kept his hand on his blades hilt as he listened. The scout knew that his head would be rolling on the floor in mere seconds if he didn't get this information out quickly.

"I saw some old guy flying towards some grassland just outside of vale, in the direction of that old guy who's been giving us trouble."

While this information stayed Adams blade, it did nothing to improve his temper.

"How could a human be flying, you idiot"?!

"I don't know" The scout was starting to sweat, Adam tended to get a little overzealous when partaking in interrogations. "But that guy who lives over there has been resisting us for a while so…"

"SO WHAT"!

"So maybe… maybe she's gone to hide out with him."

The scout expected at best more verbal abuse at this theory, at worst a quick slice and a loss of life. However Adam responded to this information with that macho, gaze into the distance, introspective look that he often had when delivering propagandise speeches.

"So she hides with my enemies…how like you to break my heart again, my dear Blake…"

He then turned to his scout again, with a psychotic smile on his face. Clapping his hand on the scout shoulder, he sent him to make plans to storm the grass lands.

"We trample anything in our way until we find her. Bring her to me _alive_."

The scout bowed and sprinted from the room, almost tripping over his dead commanding officer in his haste. Adam walked over to the balcony and gazed into the distant horizon, looking existential again.

'I love you…but I cannot let a traitor live, every breath you took from the moment you ran has been an indictment on our cause. And now my darling, you pay for your ignorant sacrilege...with your pretty little neck.'


	3. I don't train

The inside of the cabin looked much better on the inside than it did on the outside. A bright wooden floor covered the entire one story house. The living room and the kitchen each took a half of the moderately large room which the front doors lead into. Ruby and Blake noticed a musty red couch with a couple of white blankets on it, upon which Vegeta laid upon, facing away from them. Goku lead them over to a wooden table surrounded by chairs and offered them some ramen pots. Blake and Ruby both sat down and accepted.

"Make one for me, Kakarot!" Vegeta muttered, his voice muffled by the pillow that he had his face buried in.

"Don't mind him" Goku smiled as he whispered to the girls, "He gets cranky when he's hungry"

Ruby sat eagerly awaiting her food as Goku lit a fire on a large black stove with his finger and began to boil a copper kettle. Blake however, looked around the room, curious that humans still lived in these kinds of conditions these days. In her experience, all the senior citizen had moved to the larger cities within the four kingdoms. Living in the wilderness was extremely dangerous for old people because of the Grimm attacks. She decided to ask Goku why after she had eaten something.

The kettle started to whistle and Goku put out the flame and produced three ramen cups from a cabinet next to the stove. He placed the full ramen cups in front of the two girls and then turned to Vegeta.

"It's ready"

Vegeta grunted as he stood up and sat down at the table as well. He chose the seat furthest from the two huntresses and grabbed his food. He looked at Goku almost expectantly, as though he had forgotten to do something.

"What about you, where's yours"?

Goku sat down so that he and Vegeta were at opposite ends of the table with the two girls in between them, and frowned at his empty portion of the table.

"I'm not really hungry."

Vegeta nearly choked on a mouthful of noodles and gawked at Goku, an expression of bewildered surprise plastered across his face.

"What"? Goku looked embarrassed as if he had just said something extremely stupid. Vegeta stared at him like Goku was some kind of freak.

"You…are not hungry?" He managed to stammer out.

"Oh don't look so shocked, training was the reason I needed to eat…but now I don't so I'm not."

Vegeta mouthed a few silent words, obviously trying to think of a response to this, but fell back on eating silently, not looking at anyone. Ruby and Blake had exchanged looks and were about to dig in themselves, if they had not seen how Vegeta went about eating his food. To say that he ate like a pig would be unfair to pigs, he ate more like a duck. His chopsticks were more like a brownish blur as he shovelled the ramen down with an astonishing speed and consistency. It was completely finished in a mere few seconds and he was drinking down the dregs of the cup enthusiastically while the girls gaped at him with open mouths.

"Oh right, you aren't really used to this are you"? Goku laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. Vegeta suddenly looked up at the untouched food in front of the two girls.

"Are you going to eat that or what?!"

A squeak escaped Ruby's mouth as she hastily began to wolf down the ramen with all the speed she could muster (This was also quite an impressive feat). Blake began eating slowly and gracefully, but over time gave into her hunger and began scoffing the noodles in a similar fashion to Ruby. They had eaten ramen before, but this was nothing like anything they had ever experienced before. The pots were empty in a matter of seconds. Both girls looked into the depths of their empty meals almost crestfallen, but were too polite to ask for more.

Only when they looked up did they notice that both Goku and Vegeta were looking at them. Goku wore an odd sort of nostalgic smile, his eyes unfocused, as though Ruby was a mirror into the past, Blake even swore that she even saw a twitch in Vegeta's face that looked hauntingly like a warm smile.

"Umm…what"? Ruby inquired, uncomfortably shuffling in her seat.

"Sorry, it's just…you remind me of my granddaughter"

Ruby's face went slightly pink at this and she immediately began staring into her cup again. Blake smiled understandingly and finished off her dregs. The room became eerily quiet as they all finished their food. Blake knew that Goku had only offered them food, but she knew that Adam would be looking for them now; they couldn't go back to Beacon, not yet anyway. And then there was the case of this old guys amazing strength…if he some kind of secret that gave it to him, they could seriously use it.

"What happened to her?" Ruby asked tentatively. She had finished her cup and now looked at Goku with great interest.

Goku stopped smiling at this sudden question from the young huntress. He placed his hands on the table for a few seconds, not looking at her. He seemed to be trying to find the right words to explain. He spoke after a few moments, with a stoic mournful face and when he did speak, he spoke clearly and flatly. "She died… the anniversary was five years last week."

Ruby placed her hands over her mouth and looked at Blake. She also felt shocked, though it didn't translate as obviously on to her face as it did Ruby's. That was awful; nobody should have to outlive their children. She glanced at Ruby's pale face, all the paler for her empathy with this old man. Vegeta said nothing; he was finished with his food and therefore had nothing to do at the table but scowl into space.

The silence stretched out over the long minutes. Blake saw out of the window that the sun was a small crack of scarlet on the horizon. Morning had come, and she cherished the sight, for she had not expected to see it again. She knew that Adam was out there planning his next move; she knew that he was not the type to give up so easily. He'd find them again…eventually. She blinked for a long moment, tiredness beginning to close in. Blake looked down at Ruby, whose head had started to droop with exhaustion.

"Hey…would it be okay if I and my friend slept here?"

Blake was glad she said this, anything would have done to break that awful silence, but Goku's reaction was glowing. He jumped up, a big grin on his face and opened his arms in a sign of sincerity.

"Yeah, sure you can! Please stay as long as you need to!" Goku exclaimed joyfully, before quickly looking at Vegeta, almost apprehensively. He clearly regretted not asking him first.

Vegeta said nothing. Goku knew that expression and the crossed arms, combined with the lack of eye contact. He had seen it before on many an occasion. He knew that look said without words 'Well…if you must'. This small act seemed to electrify Ruby, who sat bolt upright, smiling adorably. It was nice to see her smiling again in earnest…after what happened, Blake wondered if she would ever be able to get over her worry. She was far tougher than she looked.

They were lead outside by Goku, to a small sort of paddock out to the back of the house. It had been blocked from view upon their arrival, by a huge tree that lay on its side before it. Goku rubbed the back of his head in slight embarrassment as the bemused expressions on the girls' faces.

"We needed the space for farmin'. This whole area used to be forest until me and Gete's cleared it." His smile widened as he gazed into the past once again. "He…he wanted to use his energy to blast them away, but I told him the animals would die too, and we needed them for huntin'."

'Energy'?

Blake was slightly shocked at how blasé Goku was talking about innocent creatures being either suffering genocide or driven from their homes to be murdered later, but Ruby looked like she had barely even registered what was said. She was looking tired again. And what the hell was this energy business about? Could it be the marvel that he had shown them in the alley?

"And this, Goku pointed to a stable in the paddock that was full of straw, - is where you'll be sleepin'."

Ruby and Blake stared at the dark rickety structure, with its splintery walls and damp straw with disgust when Goku saw their faces and his own went red again.

"Oh-no, not the straw, there are beds inside." He looked at the two huntresses apprehensively. "It's a nice place to rest; it's warm, dry and sturdy. I had it made and checked by King Ka-um…a friend-who is good at building."

Blake wanted to inquire further as to whom this 'King' was, but Ruby was yawning and she wanted some sleep herself.

"Thanks again" Blake murmured, as she steered Ruby into the barn, which was a good few feet away from where they were standing. Goku waved it aside.

"I have you two to thank, this is the least we can do. Stay for as long as you like." He nodded courteously and in a flash of speed, vanished completely. Blake almost jumped at seeing an old man move so fast, but the drowsiness was beginning to addle her now, and she passed it off as little more than a trick of the dying light. Exhausted, yawning, the two huntresses staggered into the barn and looked around for beds.

It was pretty well maintained given how it looked from the outside. The dark interior was indeed dry, but the chill still hung in the air, given the emptiness of the small pit fire that lay before two futons lying parallel on the dusty floor. It had been made for the company of animals, but small human accommodations had been added, so as to extend the stables use to a guest room. A table and two chairs had been put just to the side of a set of wooden barriers that would hold horses, if Goku and Vegeta owned any. There was even a door towards the back that looked to Blake like a bathroom.

Blake and Ruby got into their futons, still clothed and not talking, they were both thinking the same thing however. The thought rang in their heads like infinite amounts of jangling church bells: What had happened to Weiss and Yang. Blake prayed that they had escaped too. Yang was badly injured when they had last seen her. She couldn't get far on her own, lucky that Weiss was with her. But she was no match for Adam…and the white fang would be after her more than ever.

Blake rolled over as Ruby began to snore, and her thoughts turned to Adam. She had never dreamed that she would come to fear him like this. Adams ideas had always frightened her, but physically he had always seemed on par with her. But his strength seemed to have increased since they had parted. Blake had learned all that she needed to know in that one encounter. There was no way that she could take Adam out, there was no hope. He was too strong.

There was also the issue that, if given the chance to take his life…she didn't know if she'd have the stomach to snuff out another living person. Their differing philosophies regarding what constituted murder was the reason Blake had fled in the first place. If she sank to that level, to actually steal a life from this world for her own prejudice or hatred…she would not kill Adam, she would become him. The thought made her shudder, how had she ever loved that creature? Not a man, he had more in common with a monster. She'd find a way, she had to. He was never going to hurt her…family again. 

* * *

**Hi, sorry for the wait, I've been taking a break with my family and its taken a while to get back into this story. I hope the chapter length is not too annoying, as i intend to get them out a little faster from this chapter on. Thank you for reading.**

**Johnathan**


	4. Bound in blood

"AK-SON OF A-!"

The pretty blonde girl found it hard to curse while the pale hand clasped over her mouth.

"Shut up, they'll hear you" snapped Weiss, near a hysterical outburst herself. The blood was going all over her expensive clothes, and though she didn't care at the moment about laundry bills, it was not making her any calmer.

Weiss had dragged Yang's prone body into a demolished clothing store and hid them from view behind the counter. Her experience with first aid was somewhat lacking when having to deal with a wound such as this, a severed arm was a bit more advanced than she'd like. But yang was losing blood, and she had to act, Yang's aura was depleted and she would bleed out soon if nothing was done. Weiss decided to be a little…unconventional.

The ice dust had managed to keep Yang conscious, but Weiss somewhat regretted this for what she had to do next was really going to hurt. She administered a fire dust spell to the bleeding stump of an arm, which cauterised it. Weiss winced as she saw the flesh bubble and steam, but knew it was the right thing to do. It was incredibly lucky that Yang had lost just under half her blood, because she let out a poorly stifled yell that would undoubtedly draw white fang members towards the shop. They did so enjoy watching things suffer.

After Yang had stopped yelling into Weiss' hand, she relaxed, still wincing from the pain, small tears escaping her eyes as the scorched nub lay helpless at her side. Weiss worked fast, applying another ice spell to the wound, forming both a cast and a pain killing effect. Yang slowed down in moments and began to open her eyes again. Weiss only looked at her face properly for the first time now, and gasped. The blade of that Psychotic faunus had managed to nip Yang's left eye into the bargain. A scar just like her own…

"I'd hit you if you weren't upside down" Yang whispered, the ghost of a smile flitting across her flushed face. Weiss sneered.

"You and what blood? Just stop talking, you're still hurt. I've done all I can, we should wait for your aura to do the rest...I…don't think there is much hope…for the arm."

Yang grimaced and attempted to sit up, but Weiss pushed her down, insisting that he needed to stay put for a few minutes. She jumped when she realised that the hand that was holding her down was pressing against Yang's chest, and quickly retracted the hand. This made the smile on Yang's face widen.

"It's okay; I could die at any moment, so now's the time. Come on, you were fine with violating me without permission a few seconds ago."

"You-are-delirious", Weiss stated very calmly, looking Yang directly in the face. "Shut up or I'll be forced to gag you."

Yang had a kink pun lined up, but saw Weiss' face and decided that it would be better to shut her eyes and enjoy the pain relief. She recalled the events that led up to her current situation. The Vytal tournament was interrupted by the white fang attack, they had brought grimm and the Atlas robots had been hacked to take their side. It was a massacre. Then that…man…had shown up, he was attacking Blake, she had activated her semblance…then…pain, pain was all she could recall for those few minutes, pain and loud noise. Pain and a pair of cold hands wrapped around her. But a loud noise interrupted her recollection, bringing a heavy dose of reality.

Weiss jumped and abruptly flattened down against Yang, a terrified gasp escaped her tight lips. Loud voices could be heard from outside the shop. They did not sound like frightened civilians.

"Spread out! I want to see filth at my feet in five minutes, or else!"

Adam Taurus was standing outside the store, his white fang supporters around him, and they seemed to be ransacking the stores to the left and right of the one that the two huntresses were hiding in, searching them for some reason. Adam seemed to have chosen the clothing store for him to search alone. Weiss could see through a small crack in the underside of the desk, Adam was drawing closer to them, pushing past manikins and slicing displays in two. He looked passionate in his destruction, as only Adam could.

Weiss looked petrified down at Yang. Without any words to communicate with, she seemed to get the idea. Yang's face had become very serious, and she was not making any attempt to move or speak. Slowly, she raised her arm and pointed to the small groove that lay to their right, actually under the counter. Weiss hesitated, but there was a steely look in Yang's eyes that told Weiss that she knew what she was doing. Without any further planning, Weiss began to scoot silently under the desk; terrified she would disturb the quiet and give her position away.

As soon as she was hidden and curled up as small as the space would allow, Yang went to work. Sitting up ever so slightly, she swept her long blonde hair out from under her body and draped it over her ice cast, concealing it from view. She then resumed her lying position, although moving her legs to slightly odd angles and closing her eyes. With her body all limp like that and her pale face from the blood loss, she looked extremely similar to someone who had bled to death. Weiss understood the plan just as Adam peered over the counter, at the exact place where Weiss had sat a few moments before.

Concealed and silent as she was, Weiss could not see what Adam was doing, the desk was blocking him from view entirely. She could hear him though, and he must have been looking at Yang because… the voice he spoke in made her shiver. If she didn't know better (and she didn't think that she did), Weiss thought she heard sexual satisfaction emanating from that monsters evidently leering face.

"Heh, dumb bitch. You actually thought _you_ could get between me and my sweet? _Filthy_ little whore like you deserves this."

He hissed these words like a serpent, and Weiss could see that it was taking all the mental strength in her being for Yang to lie still and not react to being insulted like this. In any other circumstance, he would be picking the shattered remains of his teeth and skull off the floor by now. But Yang was in no condition to fight, and if Adam decided to try anything…

"If you're here…than the Heiress…the Schnee must be close by..." He sniggered. "That's _handy_ ; I could use some more _wrist exercise._ " The puns at her expense caused the tiniest quiver in Yangs brow, but Adam did not notice as the sound of fighting had broken out behind him. " _and_ I believe that's her now."

Adam had risen from his leaning position on the wooden table and had turned around, in response to the commotion behind him. The other members seemed to be struggling with someone who was refusing to come quietly. It sounded like two people were fighting back against the two or three white fang, but were not holding their own. They both recognised the voice of the girl who was yelling and jeering at the increasingly angry assailants. It was Neon, and from what the two girls behind the desk could hear, Flynt was with her.

Whatever kind of fight they were putting up ceased immediately when Adam exited then clothing store. The sight of the leader of the white fang seemed to scare the fight out of the two. Peeking through the crack in the desk again, Weiss could see what was happening out on the street. Adam was walking casually up to the now restrained Neon and Flynt, sheathing his sword. They gazed up at him, almost dazed with fear looks across their faces. Adam smiled.

"There was no need for you to fear my friends. We just wanted to talk-"

"- GO DA HELL!" Neon screamed in his face, a red and tear stained face visage at him with unfathomable loathing. Adam did not look angry; on the contrary, he looked quite happy at her outburst.

"Spirit I would expect from one of our kind, especially- (he shot a quick look at Flynt, who was staring at the floor, paralysed with fear)-While in servitude to inferior being's such as this whelp."

Adam stooped slightly and waved his hand, signalling for her to be released. He extended a hand out to help her up. Neon stared at it, as if it were something utterly repulsive, like a slug.

"Come on, I have no quarrel with an innocent, you may keep your life and join our fight."

Neon looked compulsively in Flynt's direction. Adam sneered.

"I'm afraid we will…have no use for him once we are done. This human will die, and that is my final word."

The finality of this statement forced a dry sob out of Neon's mouth. Adam withdrew his hand and crossed over to stand before Flynt. He grabbed a tuft of hair off his head and pulled him up closer to his face. Flynt sat up slightly and looked directly into Adams mask. In his eyes lurked not fear, but determination.

"Where is the Heiress"? Adam asked very slowly and clearly, as though speaking to something that could not understand human speech very well. "Where are you hiding her"?

"Let her go."

"Shut up"! The member holding him struck Flynt roughly across the head and Adam laughed at the boy's request.

Flynt's gaze had not dropped, but a further strike to his temple caused a momentary loss of eye contact. Neon was looking imploringly at Flynt, wordlessly begging him to be quiet.

" _Answer me_ human, the longer you talk, the longer I let you _live._ Where is the heiress, _Weiss_ _Schnee_ "?

"I dunno, who cares"? Spat Flynt, "Probably all cushy and safe somewhere in Atlas, away from all this bullshit." He turned his head to Neon yet again. "Now let her go, I'm warning you"!

Adam sneered as Flynt was struck, his lip was bleeding profusely and his right eye was purple. Adam leaned forward and grabbed Flynt's chin. He stared down at him with a mocking superior sort of leer.

"Heh-or what, big guy", Adam jeered. "You gonna kill me"?

"That's…just about…the size of it." Flynt panted. The threat; idle as it was, apparently sparked Adams interest. He drew his blade and pointed it at Flynt's throat. This seemed to shut him up. Neon voiced Weiss' thought.

"NO PLEASE DON'T, I'LL DO IT, I'LL DO WHAT EVER YOU SAY. PLEASE JUST DON'T-"

A loud bang interrupted her plea, and a large dust cloud obscured the group. Weiss thought she heard sounds of a scuffle, a whoosh, and then a second as Adam slashed through the cloud with his blade. The extraordinary force of the amplified swing cleared it away instantly. Flynt and Neon were gone, and the White fang members who had been holding them lay unconscious, their heads lolling together.

"WHAT"!?

Adam stared furiously around for the mysterious backup; the street was empty except for him and his men. He instinctively looked up and saw something that nearly made him drop his sword. A man was floating in mid-air. He was silhouetted by the sun, so Weiss couldn't make him out, but the man appeared to be holding two bodies in his arms. Adam blinked, and the flying stranger was gone, along with the two students that he had been interrogating.

Those next few minutes were quite confusing for Weiss. She did not know how to feel. She hated watching Flynt getting beaten up, she always respected those in the dust industry as she was…that and he was kind of cute. But who had been that man, and how was he flying? But Adam had taken the loss of his prisoners oddly well. To Weiss' relief, he had called his forced back to beacon academy, after they came around. But Weiss knew that Adam would not retreat, he was regrouping for a city wide search for both Blake and Ruby, for herself. He would not concern himself with such small fry anymore.

"We have to move" Whispered Yang. "They're bound to discover us sooner or later. Let's get out of the city."

"T-there was a flying man" Weiss; slightly dumb struck, muttered back, realising how absurd it sounded saying it out loud, but said it none the less.

"What"? Yang sounded concerned, entertaining the idea that Weiss may have hit her head at some point.

"I know, but I did see a flying man. He created that dust cloud and saved Flynt and Neon."

"Who"?

"Oh you know, the Black guy with a trumpet and the monkey faunus on roller-skates."

Yang's pale face turned very stony at her recollection. She remembered that fight very well.

"Oh…her. Well, at least they're safe, however they escaped. But we need to go. "

Weiss straightened up and helped Yang to her own feet. Still lacking a lot of blood, and the loss of her arm interfering with her natural equilibrium, Yang was slight wobbly and needed Weiss to support her. But her Aura was starting to regenerate, and Yang soon had the strength to stand unaided.

"You can't go walking around with that", Weiss pointed at the large ice-cube encasing her injury. "Here, I'll get rid of the obstructive thing."

Yang winced slightly as the cast was removed, but did not cry out, they did not know who was still around. Weiss threw the ice to one side and raised her sword again. A small glyph appeared upon the wound. Yang felt a strange sensation spread through what remained of her arm. It felt like it had gone to sleep.

"I used a time stopping glyph; we don't want that going septic."

"Thanks" said yang, still a bit woozy from pain and blood loss. And with her arm around Weiss' neck, the two huntresses made their way out of the clothing store and made for the city limits, encountering no opposition. It looked like the white fang had only occupied the school, at least while Weiss and Yang were attempting to escape. Weiss knew there was still a target on her own head, but Adam would not be looking for Yang anymore. He would also assume that she had been evacuated back to Atlas, so he would never search for her in the outskirts of Vale.

Yang was hoping that Blake and Ruby had fled to the country as well; she was worried about Ruby being alone with Blake right now. She could be prone to making unwise decisions now that she had caught up with her old partner. The last thing they needed right now was a white fang relapse. Ruby would keep her in check, but if anything happened to her, she would be holding Blake personally responsible…and Yang would never forgive her.

* * *

"RISE AND SHINE, WEAKLINGS"!

Blake nearly got a head rush, she sat up so fast. The voice had been so loud that she could here birds flying away in the distance, disturbed from their sleep. Ruby must have woken up too because there was a loud squeak just to the left of her. Vegeta was standing over the both of them, his arms folded, and his face plastered with a malicious smile.

" _Excuse_ me, can I help you"? Blake snapped, outraged by this assholes attitude.

"Yes, _you_ can" Vegeta threw back at her, and grabbing her by the bow, he pulled Blake from the room. Ruby followed looking worried.

It must have been extremely early in the morning. The sky was hot pink with fresh sunlight reigning over a silent land. There was no breeze to speak of, and the silence was concrete, at least until Blake was dragged by the ear out to the front of the paddock by Vegeta.

Blake was about to slap this guy for being so hands on, but his grip was strong, impossibly strong. This was crazy, how could an old man be so... The squeezing was starting to… Blake stopped moving, attempting to pull away from Vegeta, but he hung on.

"Let go"!

"If you listen" Vegeta looked more serious now.

"No no, seriously, let go"! Blake could feel her ear begin to bleed from the pressure on it. "I-I'm a faunus, I have cat ears, you're _hurt-ing_ them"!

Vegeta's eyes flashed, and he let her go. Blake ripped the bow off her head and proceeded to rub her crushed cat ear. It wasn't broken, but it defiantly hurt. Blake glowered at Vegeta, who had averted his eyes, a slight pink tinge in his cheeks.

"What-the- _hell_ is your problem"!?

"How was I supposed to know you had rodent features? I thought you were just a fashion disaster; you'd do well to tell people that more. Fool, I could have ripped it off"!

Vegeta's tone was apologetic, but his words eluded such obvious emotional expression. Blake was not ready forgive him just yet, but she did want to know what he wanted so she could go back to sleep. She stood with her own arms folded and her eyebrows rose, and Ruby joined her side.

"I didn't need to ask you anything, go talk to Kakarot, shorty." said Vegeta, in a more casual tone. He clearly regretted being so over enthusiastic with Blake a few moments prior.

"Kaka-wa"? Ruby tilted her head, a look of puzzlement on her drowse face.

"I mean-you know th-oh fine, Goku then"! Vegeta spoke exasperatedly, it seemed to be a problem that he'd dealt with for a while when talking about his roommate. Ruby looked like she understood, and made for the house. Blake watched her go and turned back to Vegeta, now slightly interested.

"I know why you're here. You're both runaways from that attack on that Beckon academy, right." The smile had returned to Vegeta's face, and Blake knew why she was being asked this, he wanted an excuse to kick her and Ruby out. The idea of lying did enter her mind, but the cat ears had given it away, it was too late. She hung her head and decided to be honest.

"It's called _Beacon_ …and…Yes."

"And those who made a scene there, they'll be coming here looking for you"?

"Yes."

"And I doubt they're coming to catch up with you over a soda"?

"No" Blake gulped, here it comes.

Blake had expected to see apprehension in his face or even fear at the possible destruction of his home. However, a weird sort of excitement seemed to be spreading across the irritable face.

"Right"! Vegeta declared, rather louder than was necessary. "That's settled then. Well? Get going! One hundred radishes! Put them in a pile here"! Vegeta pointed at his feet, where a wheelbarrow sat. Blake gaped at him, quite unsure of what to say to such an unexpected request.

"W-what"? She spluttered. "You're not kicking us out"?

"Of course I'm kicking you out, but not yet. From the sound of things, you don't have anywhere else to go."

"And why…radishes"?

Vegeta smiled again.

"Breakfast."

"But why do I have to-"

"I'll explain when you're done." Vegeta waved his hand in the air and turned his back on Blake, thus ending the conversation. Bewildered by her strange early morning chore, Blake began to pull up radishes as fast as she could.

It was hard gruelling work. The vegetables were far bigger than any Blake had ever seen and it took all of her strength to pull even one out of the dirt covered ground. After about an hour and a quarter, the wheelbarrow was full. Wiping the sweat off her forehead, Blake called out to the house.

"I'm done"!

"Bring them to the house, cat girl"!

Her temper was already worn thin by the chore, but being called cat girl drove her over the edge. Blake gripped the handles of the wheelbarrow and drove the rusty old thing up to the house in a matter of seconds. She burst through the front door, sweating, aching, and fuming with outrage. Goku, Vegeta, and Ruby were sitting at the table waiting for her. She was about to scream herself hoarse when Goku spoke calmly.

"Sit down Blake; we have a proposition for you both."


	5. The fusion technique

Blake stood in the door way for a second; think she had heard him wrong. "A proposition?"

"Yes" Goku said, slightly reluctantly. He looked a lot older than Blake remembered, almost as if this conversation was very draining for him. "Please, pull up a chair and we'll explain."

Blake complied, and looked to Ruby for someone to share her apprehensive look with, but found only a face of suppressed excitement. Ruby looks like she already knew what was going to be discussed, and wanted to tell her but didn't want to ruin a surprise.

"Me and Vegeta have been talking about the situation at your town, and we feel that you could use a hand. My first idea was to break a peace deal with this 'Adam'", Blake shifted uncomfortably in her chair as she heard his name. "But Vegeta just told me that he caught him about to stab a poor civilian."

"That's right", disgust was mounting Vegeta's words as he recalled the grizzly scene. "The coward had them defenceless at his feet…didn't even give them a chance to die fighting…"

"WHAT DID THEY LOOK LIKE?!" Blake did not realise she had exclaimed the statement until she heard the sound of even more birds being rudely awoken, nor did she realise that Ruby had mirrored her statement and volume. The voices cut across Vegeta's like a sickle across wheat and the two pairs of eyes were boring into his, wide as dinner plates.

"Some black kid with a neck tie, and a _rainbow monkey_." Vegeta's tone was casual, but a dash of resentment slipped into the statement as he mentioned the latter.

Blake's entire body relaxed…Adam hadn't found Weiss and Yang. She could only hope that was the way it stayed. Ruby had allowed her head to rest on the table; Blake thought she saw a tear hit it.

"And so…where is this going?" Blake had turned to Goku. He looked extremely reluctant, this was clearly the part of the conversation he'd been dreading.

"Well…I guess this man isn't to be reasoned with…so only other option is to…you know…take him out."

The statement hung in the air like a miasma for about 10 seconds before Blake spoke again. She had finally come to a decision, if he was moving forward to full on murder; there was no question about where her allegiance lay anymore. Blake stood up and all eyes fixed on her. Tears were fighting to escape her eyes as she said it, but Blake would not live a lie anymore.

"Yes, he has to die…for what he's done."

A further 10 seconds passed before anyone spoke again. Ruby looked slightly shocked at Blake's sudden falling down on one side, but stood up quickly and walked over to grasp her hand.

"Count on it" she said and Blake found it 10 times harder to keep the tears out of her eyes. They sat down together and looked over at the old men again. Vegeta had responded to Blake's statement by folding his arms, smiling happily. But Goku looked no less uncomfortable. He clearly did not enjoy discussing murder in any capacity.

"Yeah...well, the thing is, we wanna help, but we don't…do killing." Vegeta scoffed as Goku but was silenced with a look. "If he's really that dangerous, you two will have to do the killing."

"Well that's the problem" Blake explained, gathering her wits and trying to sound a bit less emotionally charged. "I've tried, I can't touch him- he's too fast."

Goku and Vegeta smirked at this remark; it seemed to amuse them that Blake would consider that kind of speed 'fast.'

"Vegeta suggested that we train you both, just for a few days, and then you may stands a better chance against this guy. He seems to think that we could make you both strong enough to successfully perform a certain technique that will give your chances a big boost."

Blake leaned forward I her chair, now very interested in what Goku was offering, Ruby was now shaking with desire to tell Blake what he was talking about, but still managed to keep her mouth shut with her hands.

"What kind of technique?"

Now it was Vegeta who looked uncomfortable, he averted his eyes and scowled at the corner, but Goku instantly became more animated, pleased to get off the subject of murder.

"The fusion technique."

* * *

"I'm not doing it."

"Come on, hurry up."

"I refuse."

"I need your help, ice queen!"

Yang held out the clothes with her remaining arm, exasperated at her stubborn refusal to take them. Weiss had her arms folded and was looking in the opposite direction. She appeared to be pouting in the dim light.

"Look, you're already wanted and they think I'm dead!" Yang softly exclaimed as she crouched behind the dumpster next to the now naked faunus. "We can't just walk down the street! We need to disappear."

Weiss looked down at the white tunic and grimm mask with the upmost contempt. She turned away again, scowling.

"Those rags represent everything that made my childhood hell, and this dress cost more than you could ever imagine, I'm not wearing them."

Yang raised her eyebrows. "We are covered in blood, and we can't just burst into a dry cleaner. So, to hell with the stupid dress, is it worth more than your life?!"

Weiss scoffed at this statement and grabbed the white fang uniform.

"Alright fine! Get yours on too."

Yang blushed slightly as she held her own uniform, feeling its weight and looking at the unnecessary sleeve it held.

"What?" Weiss asked as she stepped to the other side of the dumpster to change in private.

"I…uh…I'm gonna need a hand."

Weiss stared at the blonde amputee as she stared at the clothes in her one hand.

"You can't be serious."

"I need you to help me out here."

"You reaaaally can't be serious."

"Yes Weiss, I'm serious."

There was an edge to Yang's voice and she looked extremely embarrassed and hurt at the prospect of being dressed. Weiss sighed. "Fine…but never. Tell. ANYONE!"

After some quick changing, the two huntresses emerged back onto the street, concealed in some stolen white fang attire. They began to walk along the city limits, towards the exit.

Weiss had let her hair down and had stuffed her Myrtenaster down the back of the tunic to conceal it.

Yang looked much the same instead of the mask, and her one remaining ember Celica had been stowed in her pocket, in its bracelet form.

"Did you really have to push them in so hard" Yang complained as she rubbed her chest. "This thing was tight enough without you crushin' em."

"Shut up, idiot! It was bad enough that you weren't wearing a bra!" Weiss sounded livid beneath her mask. The combined humiliation of having to dress as a terrorist and having to dress the most voluptuous member of team RWBY had put her in a towering temper.

"I told you, I'm sorry. You should be proud, you got your hands on them twice in one day and lived to tell about it. That's further than any guy's ever got. How do you feel?"

"Repugnant."

Weiss made a scathing noise and Yang brought her into a rough one armed hug, laughing at how mad she was. Weiss pushed her off. Her rage broke at the friendly gesture, but her bad temper shone through.

"Its fine…just don't touch me anymore."

They turned a corner and saw a white fang patrol approaching from the other end of the street. There were about seven in all. Weiss made to instinctively stop in panic, but Yang bumped into her, as a covert gesture to keep moving.

"But we don't have faunus traits, what if they think?-"

"-Some members have concealed traits, we'll be fine."

But it seemed the patrol had seen Weiss' hesitation and stopped the two of them. There was no accusation in the voice of the member that questioned them, but Weiss and Yang could both feel eyes on them, suspiciously scanning them for anything unusual.

"I didn't see you two at the meeting, and why aren't you armed?"

Weiss didn't know what to say, and gained a new found respect for Yang and her people skills, as she immediately cut in without missing a beat.

"We're new, just transferred from Minstrel; we were a little late to the party so we weren't given anything to fight with. Don't suppose you guys could hook us up?"

The white fang member glanced at Yang's stub, and then looked at his companions before continuing.

"I didn't know we were recruiting the disabled, do you have anyone who could vouch for you in the order?"

"Take it up with Adam if you have better ideas of who we should recruit. He told me 'I don't care how many limbs it has, as long as it hates humanity'." The soldiers all laughed cruelly.

"Heh…yeah that does sound like something he'd say." the member chuckled.

"And concerning my arm…it happened when I was young." Said yang, in mock reminiscence, "Such cruelty I have never since known."

The member looked at the burned at fleshy stump and narrowed his eyes beneath the mask. "That looks fresh to me."

Weiss thought that Yang had lost her nerve for a moment; she paused and seemed to fumble for a moment, but then expertly played it off as another painful recollection.

"It…was…that…that Schnee bitch…that filthy little skank! She saw me minding my own business and cast a fire spell that _really fucking hurt._ "

"The heiress, where is she?"

"I don't know, it all happened so fast," and now Yang was really getting into her stride, taking advantage of the mask's covert factor by fake crying. "When I came to…she had vanished."

"Well…I guess that checks out" the member murmured, convulsively rubbing his forearm and turning to Weiss. "And what about you?"

Weiss panicked in her mind, what should she say? What wouldn't give the game away immediately? The thought came to her in a fresh wave of shame. But she had no other way to escape.

"I'm a faunus. My friend here has shown me the light, and was kind enough to give me some spare clothes to change into. I wish I had been with her in her hour of need, I'd have shown that rich girl a thing or two."

She held her breath and awaited a response, those damned masks made it difficult to discern their expressions. But then he let out another laugh and wrapped her on the shoulder.

"Always happy for some young blood, Happy hunting."

Having bid the patrol farewell, the huntresses walked quickly past them and turned a corner. The moment they were alone, Yang spoke very quickly, as Weiss' hand had raised her hand to slap her.

"I apologise for calling you a skank, I was trying to be convincing. Nothing more."

Weiss' hand hung in mid-air and retracted slowly retracted, her eyes never leaving Yang's guilty face. They walked on in silence until they got to Veils entrance gate. Since the Atlas robots had been used in the Beacon attack, they were no longer guarding the entrance to the city. Weiss and Yang managed to slip through it without any resistance; and fled into the foliage beyond, flinging the grimm masks onto the ground.

* * *

In the large section of field that had been cleared of radishes, the two girls stood parallel to their respective teachers. Goku and Vegeta stood with their arms folded. They stared down their students with vastly different looks in their eyes. Goku looked excited and almost proud, whereas Vegeta looked bored and slightly sick, this technique brought back bad memories for him.

Blake glanced at Ruby, who nodded. They both raised their arms and began to shuffle towards each other, moving their hands toward one another. One they had each taken three steps, they stopped and thrust their arms away from each other. It a quick sudden motion, the girls brought their arms over their heads and brought them closer… and they slipped, crashing into each other and falling to the ground.

The heap of black hair and red cape lay undisturbed for a few moments. Blake was starting to lose her temper, nothing was happening! She had no idea what Goku was waiting for! The huntresses both started shakily to get to their feet, the hundredth failure having hurt like a bitch. A helpful hand extended from the edge of Blake's vision, and Goku pulled her up.

"Remember, _symmetry_." He did not sound agitated; on the contrary, the more she and Ruby failed, the happier he seemed to become. Blake however was losing patience with the silly little dance. But when she opened her mouth to vocalise this, Goku cut across her.

"I know that look, you think this is ridiculous and that there is no way it'll work. But wait, just stay with it, and I promise it'll work." Blake sighed and looked at Ruby again, she was already on her feet again and looking back at her with a determined smile, Blake returned it.

"Again!" Goku shouted.


	6. Old habits

" _ **Come on…you can do it!"**_

" _ **Goku...I can't find you…its too dark."**_

" _ **You're ok, just take my hand."**_

" _ **I'm tired…Goku."**_

" _ **No, please just listen to me!"**_

"…"

" _ **Chichi?"**_

" _ **CHICHI!"**_

* * *

Goku was used to sitting bolt upright in terror as a way of greeting the midnight air. On this occasion however, his eyes merely parted in a calm flutter, meeting the dark starless sky of a cloudy midnight. He sat up, remembering that he had volunteered to keep watch for danger while the others slept, and tried to recall the dream he had been having. This was becoming increasingly difficult; the edges of the painting were becoming blurry, drop by drop that recollection escaped him, until barely anything remained.

All he could remember, sitting there with a blanket around him in the chilly autumn night was the strange tugging feeling in his throat, that stained tightness that normally preceded one bursting into tears. He woke up covered in tears sometimes, but never quite remembered why. He sighed.

"…It's not real; it's just your mind playing tricks."

The thought did not reassure Goku much, but all the same, he gathered up the blanket and walked back to the house. It was Vegeta's turn to watch for this 'White fang.' He thought about using instant transmission, but in the cool midnight air, it seemed a waste to lose out on the walk. As he trudged through the ploughed up ground and unkempt grass, he felt a strange presence; it felt like…eyes, all around him. Goku froze, halting his foot falls to allow for total silence.

He listened intently for something, anything at all. Goku's age had not addled his sense of hearing, and he defiantly still trusted in his sense of smell. He was sure that he would have caught wind of any dangerous animal that was about to attack, but he could only smell the cool night air and his own dusty clothes.

Goku gave himself a little shake, and continued towards the house. He never usually permitted himself to get so paranoid; it was probably just a fox or something. This though persisted until just before his hand closed on the banister leading to his front door, when a crossbow bolt narrowly missed his head and stuck in the side of the rickety oak front door.

The pointed projectile had merely skimmed the side of Goku's face before passing him, and he could tell that it was a warning shot. The startled old man turned around slowly and saw who had fired at him. A masked man was standing in the clearing behind Goku, his hands steady and his and his hidden eyes focused on his target. There was a brief moment where the pair simply stared each other down, each waiting for the other to blink or react in some way.

Finally, the white fang operative raised his hand and gestured Goku to follow him wordlessly, before raising his finger to his lips in further instruction, for silence. Goku thought it was pretty cocky for him to face him alone, he was sure he had back up and was probably leading him into a trap. But both Vegeta and those kids were asleep, and he may not be able to wake them up in time. No, it fell to him to take the risk.

The stranger slowly reversed back into the woods, with Goku in pursuit. They walked at a measured pace, stepping carefully around the radishes, but with a purpose. Their path led to a clearing just beyond the tree line; not the work of him or Vegeta, the edges were shabby and uneven, leaving a surplus of crevices for hiding places. At this unbidden realisation, three masked men appeared from behind tree trunks and joined their companion. Their full expressions were unreadable, but there was no question about their toothy triumphant smiles. The man holding the crossbow stayed silent as the others began to talk, his face dark and mysterious.

"Thanks' for joining us Son Goku; we wanted to ask about you and your little residence."

"What do you people want?" Goku's voice did not sound aggressive, but his face congealed into a hard, suspicious glare, a glare that made the member close his mouth and swallow hard, rather than carry on. His friend took over for him.

"We're looking for two girls, a short red head with a scythe and a black haired cat faunas, you seen 'em?"

"We have guests, but I can't exactly remember if they fit such a description." Goku was scratching his forehead and hunching over slightly, looking a very tired and decrepit old man. The three members all moved forward, in an apparent attempt to look intimidating. Goku smiled to himself.

"Well, we'll be the judge of that. Take us too them." The middle one said, and attempted to push Goku forward toward his home, but his hand might have struck a mountain for all the good it did. Goku stood firm and spoke in a soft measured tone of voice.

"There will be no need for any more of that. They're asleep; it would be nasty to wake them up this late. Why don't you come back tomorrow?" The three men all took one look at each other before drawing their weapons. Goku found a crossbow in his face for the second time that evening.

"Get out of the way, old man." The white fang member on the left snapped, his sword pointed straight at Goku's heart. "We don't take kindly to human interference."

As the sword poked threateningly against his chest, and the crossbow clinked and strained with the built up pressure of the mechanism, a strange nothing fell over Goku. He did not really understand what he was feeling, it seemed…familiar. He looked at the weapons and he heard the threats, and a strange heat spread through his body. What was this warm familiar feeling flooding his body, a feeling so familiar that he could almost taste it?

"Human?"

A second jab with the sword; harder this time, brought the answer to the forefront of Goku's mind. He realised what it was that he had been feeling ever since the warning shot. It bubbled through his veins and made his mind work its magic. He had started unconsciously sizing up the armed faunus and had begun to make plans to detain them in spite of himself.

'Four of them…three will attack head on…one will cover them…take him out first…'

Goku could hardly believe what he was thinking, those days were over, and he hadn't fought a human being for years. All the same, his body was warm and his stomach was full. He felt stronger than usual whilst staring down these trouble makers, looking to destroy his home and harm his guests, and he acknowledged the feeling inside him.

It was hatred, he knew that now, he hated these people; he hated what they were going to do if he didn't stop them. The thought of those girls getting attacked in their sleep made his hand close, his knuckles bulging like bolts. The white fang members were done waiting; the guy who had been jabbing Goku's chest had raised it above his head and; smiling cruelly, brought it swinging down towards Goku's neck.

There was a loud clang and snap. The sound of snapping metal echoed through the trees. A brief silence was followed by harsh shouts of disbelief. The faunus who had swung at Goku was now lying on the floor, knocked on his ass by the force that had turned his claymore into a useless, bladeless hilt. The other two with hand to hand weapons were looking around in wild surprise, looking from their fallen ally to every corner of the clearing, searching for the old timer.

The blanket which he had been warming himself inside now lay useless on the floor, a fat crossbow bolt lodged in it. For a moment, they thought that this was the old guy's dead body, crumpled and broken. But this did not explain what had happened to the sword. Only when they looked up did they see him again. Goku had appeared quite suddenly…in mid-air. The located old man dwelled above their heads, standing as if on an invisible platform, a steel blade clutched in his hand.

The three remaining members gawked up at him in disbelief. Cloak-less now, Goku's true form was revealed to the attackers. His usual orange gi had long since perished to time, in its place; he wore a black tank top and dark blue denim pants. The only part of his old uniform that was still usable were his old boots, now faded from blue to grey but still sturdy and viable for combat. Turning over in mid-air, Goku returned to the ground, smiling from ear to ear. In his invigorated state; he seemed to glow, and as the faunus stared at his rippling muscles and adept martial arts discipline, the description was not so metaphorical.

In his excitement, Goku had summoned up his remaining energy. He felt it coarse through him like a gale force, strengthening his muscles and sharpening his senses. For the briefest of moments, he had completely forgotten why he had ever stopped fighting. This was easy, this was wonderful! But the reality of the three remaining assailants brought him back to his focus. Assuming a stance, he prepared to engage in grounded combat. The faunus all looked at each other.

"Spritely for his age isn't he?" Said the guy in the middle, as he delicately caressed the point of an eight inch bowie knife, the gesture was slightly diminished by his shaking hands. The man on the left laughed rather pathetically, but the marksman said nothing. He had already fitted another bolt into his weapon and held it aloft, trying hard not to blink. Goku's hand loosened a fraction, allowing the broken sword blade to slide to the floor. He brought his foot down on it, and the forged steel shattered.

He decided that he was done defending himself; he was itching to throw a punch, it had been far too long. He charged forward, allowing his energy to flair again, and flew at the white fang member holding the knife. The faunus panicked and raised his arms to his face convulsively. Goku's hard punch smashed through this poorly maintained guard, aura be forgotten. He flew back, taken clean off of his feet by the force of the attack, and landed with a clatter on top of the other prone faunus.

He managed to dodge as the third assailant came at him, swinging a metal re-enforced club right at Goku's head. The force of the swing threw him off balance and Goku took advantage of the miss. Bringing his shin into contact with the only foot supporting the attacker, Goku performed a sweeping kick, the force of which cut pushed the legs out from under him and causing the faunus to over balance. Goku spun in mid-air and struck him again on the back with his foot, causing him to crash in a heap with the other two.

Goku stuck the landing with one handed hand stand, before flipping over onto his feet and straightening back up, looking straight at the fourth man, who was pointing his weapon at him yet again. His former composure finally starting to drop, his arms shook as the masked man aimed his crossbow. Goku dropped his guard and started to speak, he knew that this would not work, but he could not continue in good conscience if he didn't try.

"I think you understand now; your friends are alive, but they'll need medical attention. I suggest taking them back to where ever you came from."

The white fang member grimaced in fury and changed his aim; he pointed his crossbow at a nearby tree and pulled the trigger. It was not until the trigger had been pulled that Goku realised what he had done. The instant the bolt had been fired, it had set itself ablaze. As soon as it hit the large oak, the leaves and top most boughs crackled into flame. This threw Goku off; he turned to the burning tree and tightened his fists. He knew that the fire would spread if he did not put it out. The starter of the fire had already started to flee, but Goku had more important things to worry about.

Goku charged at the tree and willed his energy to strengthen him again. Slamming into the trunk, he dug his fingers into it as hard as he could and pulled up. The tree's roots resisted, but almost instantly broke free of the long grassed earth, earth and bits of twigs flying left and right. Holding it with one arm was a little difficult, but there was nothing else for it. Straining to keep the tree truck straight; so that it did not touch any others to spread the flames, Goku raised his hand to his forehead and touched it.

It had been a while since he had used the instant transmission technique while holding something this heavy, but it seemed to have worked well enough. While Goku's intention was to appear over the ocean, he had instead appeared within it. Despite the blunder, the fire was long extinguished and the threat was dealt with. There was a snap, and he was back in the forest, the extinguished tree clasped in his hands. Goku allowed his energy to give out and the tree fell to the undergrowth with a loud crash. The adrenaline still pumping through his veins still made Goku's chest rise and fall like a piston, not from a desire to stop and rest but to keep going.

He looked around and saw that the three men on the ground had vanished, along with the trigger happy fourth. Goku contemplated giving chase, but a rough voice he knew too well sounded off from behind him. Light was creeping over the tree line, casting two long shadows over the clearing.

"So you finally got the old itch back, huh?"

Vegeta was standing with the entrance of the clearing just behind him. He stood in his familiar grey cotton shirt and brown pants, his arms folded beneath a mocking smile. An odd shame flooded over Goku, he averted his eyes from Vegeta's triumphant expression. He felt terrible about what had just happened. His stare made Goku feel that he had committed a terrible crime.

"The fourth one took his friends...they'll come back with re-enforcements-"

"Don't change the subject, clown!" Vegeta snapped as he cut across Goku, his bad temper starting to flair with impatience. "I saw you take on those amateurs. I saw your face; you were in your element, weren't you!?"

The words struck Goku like freezing rain fall, even colder that the sea water that clung to his clothes and hair, and the boiling feeling of guilt began to steam inside him. In his anger, he managed to resume eye contact with the short angry visitor.

"I did what was unavoidable. I...don't like to fight people anymore-"

A flash of golden light flew past Goku's face and flew into the sky behind him. The sudden and unprovoked attack seemed to shock Goku into paralysis. He stared back at Vegeta, whose smile had returned, as he gazed back at the old man with his hand still raised. They stared at each other with vastly different hopes and intentions in their hearts.

"Vegeta" Goku raised his own hand in apprehension and he spoke in the most serious voice he could muster. "Stop. I know what you're trying to do, and it's not gonna work."

"Make me stop."

"I don't see the point anymore, you hear!? I don't like fighting!"

There was a long pause as Goku and Vegeta looked at each other, trying to see past the grim faces and fiery eyes, trying to understand one another, like they had so long ago.

"Then, you will die." Vegeta gained that sadistic smile that only came at the thought of honour killing someone.

"Don't do this." But the last ditch plea fell on deaf ears.

"If you don't like fighting…this won't take long." Vegeta's smile broadened as he sent another energy wave straight at Goku's face. He barely had time to use instant transmission to get behind Vegeta. I his rage, Goku did not see the hypocrisy in his actions, but he did not care. He raised his fist and threw it at the back of Vegeta's head.

"It never meant anything to me!"

For an instant, it was like nothing had changed, he was still the superior of the two of them. He knew he could beat Vegeta, and that his point would be brought across by defeating him at his own game. Maybe this would have happened back in his glory days, but now he was an out of practice old man fighting his long standing rival whom was at the height of his game. Vegeta was so fast that Goku didn't even manage to see his turn around. The only indication that he got was a vice like grip closing around his fist, and a cart horse striking his chest.

Goku's knees buckled from the force of the impact, he would have been blown back by it if his fist wasn't being crushed within Vegeta's. Slowly, he attempted to raise his head, but the fist in his gut twisted and forced him back down with pain. Vegeta's smile had vanished; Goku's remark seemed to have inspired the attack that had winded him. The disgusted sneer had returned, with prejudice.

" _Liar_." Vegeta spat and twisted his body around, pulling Goku's arm over his shoulder. "I don't... _BUY IT_!" Vegeta launched Goku over his shoulder; he went flying across the clearing before making contact with the dirt.

He skidded across the clearing leaving a large dust cloud behind him. He made a weak attempt to land on his feet, but his winded state had robbed him of whatever strength that had resurged. He skidded to a halt at the other side of the clearing. Goku only managed to raise his eyes to where Vegeta was standing. His gaze flew over a small puddle of blood from where the ground had cut at his exposed torso.

"Try convincing yourself; before you try and convince me, Kakarot!"

Goku did not have the air in his lungs to respond, he continued to writhe on the ground, reeling from the pain and confusion. But he could not feign ignorance as to why Vegeta had said this; it was after all, the exact thing that he had told Vegeta when he had been tempted back to his old ways...so many years ago... A boot planted itself firmly on Goku's chest, and crushed what little wind the old man had left. Vegeta looked down at the defeated old fool with a look of interest coupled with disgust.

"Look at you...and you are so arrogant as to call yourself a Saiyan."

His mind drifted back to when he had first fought Kakarot, how confident he had looked in his prime. How his fists had curled as he got into that low stance and how he, Vegeta, prince of the mightiest warrior race in the universe...had lost in a fair fight to a commoner. That fact made the mongrel has-been at his feet look all the more indefensible. He spat, and removed his foot from Goku's chest, but not before pressing down extra hard for a few moments to make a final point.

"Lie to yourself all you want, but when those war hungry zoo animals get here... you're on your own." Vegeta's eyes burned into Goku's, a look that made it clear that he spoke the truth. Goku blinked, and Vegeta's foot, as well as the rest of him, had vanished into thin air.


	7. No time left

Ruby didn't exactly like the old cabin, but the food was defiantly worth the cramped space and dust surplus. Ruby thought that Weiss would not have allowed them to stay here for a second...Yang wouldn't mind; it would remind her of home...ruby continued eating her noodles, trying not to think about her lost team. That angry balding man had given her food when she had walked in bleary eyed and groggy, asking where breakfast was. She had not let it slip, but she had almost forgotten that she wasn't home.

Her memory of the silent few moments as he got her the food were quite hazy, but she did remember the look on his face as he had given her the cup, before storming out of the door. As he handed her the cup, his eyes looked different. They were sad, sunken in and very very tired looking. It was the oldest that he had ever looked. Ruby was no councillor, but she was old enough to recognise despair when she saw it. She had not worked up the courage to ask him what was wrong before he'd vanished…not that someone like him would have confided in her or anything.

All she really knew about Vegeta was that he drove Blake crazy. Ever since she had begun her training, all she did when they were alone together was whine and complain about her new teacher's attitude and bad temper. It had only been a few days, but the more time she spent with him, the more similar they became in Ruby's eyes. She was just wondering when her own training would begin, Goku had promised additional training on top of the fusion dance, but she had not been told to lift a finger. Goku staggered through the door just as Ruby's thoughts had turned to him.

To be perfectly honest, he looked like hell. His clothes looked more ragged than ever, covered in mud and were missing entirely around his ankles. His arms and face were badly bruised, and there was blood leaking out of the side of his mouth. Despite the apparent severity of his condition, he only looked somewhat discomposed at Ruby's frightened gasp. He shakily raised a hand to comfort her, to assure her without words that he was okay, but the fact that Ruby was splitting into three copies of herself made his bleeding lips curl into a smile.

"I didn't know…you knew the...after…image techiq…"

There was a rushing noise, a loud bang that seemed to reverberate throughout all of Goku's being, and a fresh wave of pain that he had no energy left to react with. The last thing he heard before blacking out was a high pitched squeak and the sound of a chair being pushed across the hard wood floor.

* * *

" **I advise placing too much stock in you escape; though if you like, I can bring you closer to home!"**

" **Krillin, look out!"**

" **Hope you aren't afraid of heights."**

" **No frieza! Don't do it!"**

" **GOKUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-!"**

Goku, Mr Goku?

* * *

Goku's eyes opened slowly this time; he did not feel fully awake yet. Shadows and shapes from his dream were still lingering upon the insides of his eye lids. But as the sunlight from the open window began to dilate his pupils, the shade of Goku's dream faded into memory. In their place, they left the image of two young smooth faces. Ruby was leaning over him, getting a good look at his freshly awoken eyes. Blake was standing behind her; looking sweaty and tired, but still worried. It took his a moment to realise where he was.

He was lying on the old sofa in his house, the blankets bunched up on one side, a hot towel on his forehead. He reached a hand out and pulled it off.

"What's this for?" Goku addressed Ruby, who smiled proudly.

"A hot towel! To bring down the swelling."

"Uh… Isn't the towel supposed to be cold?" Ruby shook her head.

"Nope, dad said that whenever my sister came home and fell down, I should drag her onto the sofa and put a hot towel on her forehead." Goku tilted his ponding head slightly, his brow furrowed.

"You were treating a hangover, not a blow to the head moron!" Blake snapped at Ruby, her bad temper flaring up again, Ruby sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Well…that is something that should have been brought to my attention-" Ruby stood up and spun around to face Blake with that same remarkable speed, to flamboyantly reveal and gesture towards a large white pile on the table. "- A WHOLE BUNCH OF HOT TOWELS AGO!"

Goku chuckled to himself before standing up, the girls made a move to keep him from over exerting himself, but his speed caught them off guard. His wounds were as bulbous and nasty looking as ever, but he seemed to have no trouble moving around the cabin. Goku looked down at his hands, still bruised and flecked with blood, and flexed them. They moved with ease and haste, with no hint of hesitation or resistance. If anything they felt stronger. His brow furrowed even further as understanding dawned on him.

"…So…that was your plan, was it?" He caressed his left fist with his right hand, massaging the bruised tissue that had been crushed by Vegeta, but now felt stronger than ever. "Well played, I guess…persistent…"

Goku looked up to see a bewildered Ruby and Blake looking for him to each other. Blake had been wiping her forehead with a rag, but it now lay on the floor as she began to walk towards Goku, her eyebrows very close together.

"I think we need to know why you two are so resilient at your age. You look like you've just been mauled by an Ursa and there doesn't seem to be any serious damage. Explain-now."

Goku stared imploringly at his own feet for a moment or two before answering. He took a great steadying breath of dusty air and looked Blake directly in her inquisitive gaze. He had been foolish to think that they would never cotton on to why he and Vegeta were still capable. No sense in lying anymore.

"Alright, I'll explain. Goku, Blake and Ruby all moved to the table and sat down. Blake was still looking curious. "Me and Vegeta…we aren't human's to tell ya the truth. We're actually the only remaining members of an alien race called the Saiyans."

Blake looked taken aback at the sudden influx of information, and Ruby opened her mouth as if to ask a question, but Goku raised his hand as a plea for silence before going on. He went on to explain his Saiyan biology and how he got stronger from surviving severe injury, how he and Vegeta had met, and the long standing rivalry between them.

"So is that why he calls you carrot cake?" Ruby blurted out, before anyone could silence her. Goku chuckled.

"Yeah, he calls me by my Saiyan name; it's his way of paying respect to our people."

"What happened to your people?" The old Saiyan's willingness to share so quickly had wrong footed Blake somewhat. In any case, she wanted to get as much information out of him as she could while he was feeling chatty. Ruby was on the edge of her seat, her expression misty and full of wonder, she was clearly impressed that she was talking to an actual alien. Her eyes were doing that thing again; they seemed to come alive amongst the gloom of the cabin.

"My people and my planet were destroyed, by a man called Frieza." He was about to continue, but Blake had gasped, and Ruby's eyes returned to normal as she jumped up from the table.

"That's the name! That's the thing you were saying in your sleep! Right before your hair changed!"

Goku' head snapped to Ruby, his black eyes wide and his loose energised shoulders suddenly stone stiff.

"What are you talking about?" He shot at Ruby, whom very quickly wiped the smile from her face.

"When you said that name, for a moment your hair changed, it moved on its own and changed colour…it was really hot, like it was on fire." Blake nodded along with ruby as Goku's gaze shot between them. He looked extremely harassed, almost self conscious. "Your eyes changed too, they were green for a second, but then you saw us and they changed back."

Goku's eyes fell, he couldn't believe that it had happened…except he had felt it, in the depths of his unconscious state; he had felt his body react to his recollection, the hot feeling in his back and the fiery blank thoughts. He had felt the power that had served him so many times at his disposal once again, after countless years of lying dormant. Vegeta's plan had worked; Goku had become a super Saiyan again.

"What was that about?" Ruby asked, leaning forward on the table. Goku did not meet her eye as she responded. "It's nothing, don't worry."

"So, if you are a race of warrior's, why did you stop training?" Blake asked tentatively. Goku seemed to think deeply about this before explaining.

"Saiyans are a warrior race, and this means that we live longer than humans...much longer. My wife, Chi Chi was human...and...She died."

"How did she die?"

"She got old...just stopped living." Goku hung his head for a moment before continuing. "But not before making me swear to her, swear that I would never fight again."

Blake got up from the table and began to pace around the room, her fatigue from tearing up vegetables quite forgotten.

"But that just seems unfair, why make you stop if you loved it so much? Surely you'd want to make the one you love happy." Goku opened his mouth to answer but closed it again almost immediately. An eerie feeling had crept up over his back and was resting in his stomach. What was that smell? Goku got up quickly and dashed over to the door. He flung it open, and his vision was engulfed by pure red fury.

Fire.

The flames had turned the forest land around the house into a blazing sea, at the border of which stood the vandals. He had no idea how they had spread so quickly. The masked men with weapons and flags were marching in lock step up towards where Goku was standing. There was a big one at the front, with square shoulders and a large mace. Besides him was a smaller man that Goku recognised from the description he'd been given. Black attire, red hair and a samurai sword. Adam Taurus had arrived.

His weapon was sheathed, but the sword was in his hand and ready for use. Their eyes met, and Adam smiled cruelly at Goku's angry and frightened expression. He maintained his smug demeanor as he gripped the hilt of his sword and drew it, slicing a wheel barrow of turnips clean in two. He flamboyantly raised the sword above his head and allowed the fire light to dance along its blade, making it appear to shift with the heat, like a rope in the wind, like a fiery snake.

* * *

 **Hi guys, Johnathan here.**

 **Apologise for the lateness and shortness of this chapter, I have been somewhat unwell, so writing has not been a priority. But I digress; I have seen that a lot of you want to get a handle on some context for the state of affairs in this story. This is just some pre-warning because the next chapter is going to be a flash back. Sorry for the halt just as the climax was getting close, but I'd like for you all to know why the Saiyans are where they are.**

 **Thanks for reading x**


	8. The cruel curse of a long life

**Many years earlier...**

"Look, I really don't have time for this!" Goku pleaded with increasing exasperation, as he attempted to pick up the loaf of bread that had fallen out of the bag when the strange man in the ski mask had knocked from his hands. He responded by cocking his handgun again.

"Don't move a muscle, or I put one in your knee before your head."

Goku was not at all intimidated by that tiny lemon squeezer he was pointing. But Goku knew that he was late and could not afford to be late. He needed to be somewhere, _now_. "I haven't got any money! And I need these." He gestured to the groceries strewn across the dirt road. The man just smirked.

"I don't want anything you've got; I'm here for pay back." His voice was ominous and aflame with malice as he steadied the crosshairs on Goku's chest. "My brother couldn't kill ya, so I will."

Dawn had broken and the sun could be seen, a red crack on the distant horizon behind Goku, silhouetting the grand mountain before him stretched tall and fierce, but a less annoying issue than this moron. Goku fixed the stranger with a steely gaze, hoping to intimidate him enough to avoid last month's fiasco all over again.

'No such luck', he thought to himself as the idiot droned on. 'Oh these bad guys and their speeches: 'Blah blah blah vengeance, blah blah blah vendetta, blah blah blah, hey Goku, I'm wastin' your time!' Didn't he understand that time was of the essence here!?

"LOOK!" Goku raised his voice in order to stifle out the incessant raving, his patience quite evaporated. "The bullet bounced off my chin, bounced off the wall and hit your brother's spine; it wasn't my fault he didn't get out of the way! I'm in a hurry, so get the hell out of here!"

He advanced forward, picking up groceries as he went; ignoring the further threats and spurious insults, the exclamations of his apparent lies and the furious bangs of the handgun discharges that seemed to tickle slightly as they bounced off Goku's back. He really must get back in shape; bullets were starting to tickle again.

Goku's thoughts were interrupted by another sound, no rant or insult from the loser behind him, but a high pitched consistent beeping. But the sound emanating from the small black wrist watch supposedly had some significance to Goku, because he swore and began to pick up packages and bottles as fast as he could. His hands moved with such swiftness, they were more pinkish blurs that normal hands. His panicked motion only stifled when another gunshot rang out; piercing the small glass bottle and inch from Goku's outstretched hand.

Goku watched in dawning horror as the last of the bright yellow liquid dribbled out onto the hot gravel, and within an instant, it was gone. His eyes narrowed as the man began to laugh, laugh at the old man doubled over in the dirt...like the punk he was.

"KAIO-KEN!"

* * *

"I'm home!" Goku called out as he closed the door behind him. A whimper from the bedroom confirmed his fears. Goku threw down the groceries and burst through the door. In the absence of its regular cleaning, the bedroom had fallen into disrepair. Unwashed sheets obscured the carpet almost entirely; the bedside tables and windowsills were lined with empty medicine bottles and pain killer boxes. Food wrappers covered the faded white bed sheets, used up and cast away by the ancient woman in the centre of the bed opposite the door. She appeared to be in a state of half consciousness; her eyes, which were almost obscured entirely by wrinkles were half open and slow wheezing breaths emanated from the old woman's mouth, which hung ajar.

Upon Goku's unsubtle entry to the bedroom however, the old woman's eyes slowly cracked apart, her eyes focused on the door immediately. Despite her acknowledging Goku's appearance, he facial expression did not change, she seemed to be too tired. Her shrunken hands looked almost skeletal as they shakily rose from the bed covers, like the hands of a strange pale white mummified corpse. Goku wrenched a bottle of medicine from his coat pocket and breezed across to the old woman, kneeling down and leaning in close to her.

"Hey Chi chi, sorry I'm late."

"Goku...are you alright?" her voice was faint and wavering, as if the time speaking was depriving her lungs of more air and her body wasn't happy about it. "Did something happen?" Goku smiled and shook his head.

"Nothing at all; look, it's been three hours" Goku motioned to his watch and Chichi's eyes drifted over the bottle in her husband's hand. "It's time for you to have another dose."

Chichi looked at Goku again, and her face finally changed. The loose dreamy limpness had given way to a scrunched up grimace of disgust. "Already? I hate taking that stuff..." She then looked imploringly at her husband's solemn smile. "Could I have some juice to wash it down, dear?" Goku's face fell instantly; he recalled the bottle that had been smashed by that jerk with a gun.

"Sorry babe, I had some...but I lost it." Goku expected his wife's face to fall in disappointment, but her eyes flashed with sudden anger. It was miraculous how she could still intimidate in her old age. Gone was the raspy old lady voice and dreamy expression. In their place were fiery eyes, adding to the sharpness of her tongue.

"I knew something happened, you shouldn't lie to me! You know I hate that!" Chichi's eyes narrowed as she scolded Goku, who jumped back and hung his head. He was kind of used to this by now.

"Look... **sigh** , just give me the medicine." And as quick as the anger had come, it had dispersed. Goku was relieved by this; but not surprised; one of his sons shared the same trait. Chichi held her breath and downed the medicine, displaying vitality unlike anything Goku had seen in her for a while; she stretched and made to get up. Unfortunately, this is where her facade put too much strain on her, and Chichi fell down onto the bed again, and Goku helped her back into a lying position. She grimaced and resumed her wheezing and dreamy expression.

"You shouldn't do that" Goku spoke in little more than a whisper. "You don't have to be strong for me." He took Chichi's shaking hand and they sat for a moment in silence. It was spring time, and the sound of bird song could be heard from the trees outside. Chichi only spoke when she was sure she had selected the right words, she sat up slightly and placed her right hand on both of Goku's which cupped together on her left. They're eyes met and Chichi scrutinized her beloved's face for a moment. His hair remained unchanged, unlike his face which had not been shaved for about two weeks. She was not sure how he felt about it, but Chichi thought he looked much more handsome when he shaved. His eyes were tired from his own age and what with taking care of her. Yes, his face was lined alright...but not as lined as hers.

"It was so nice for Bulma to leave us all this money, It came in handy in the end didnt it?"

"Have you spoken to Vegeta lately?"

Goku smiled truly at the name. "Well, he hasnt saud anything, Ive seen him in the desert, he hasn't stopped training, even though Bulma..."

The sadness of the loss crept back into Goku's heart, and the pity he felt for Vegeta throbbed in it too.

"Goku...do you think you could promise me something...before _I_ die."

"Don't say that, you'll be fine, I'm sure of it." Chichi gave her husband a very serious look and he hastened to add "-b-but sure I can promise you somethin', shoot."

"I...I want you to give up fighting...after I'm gone."

...

The request hung on the air for a good long while until Goku summoned up the most intelligent response he could think off. "Uh...what? Chichi, I'm fine. I don't need to-"

"You don't understand!" Chichi intended to have shouted, but the sudden faltering of her lungs had softened her voice even more, her body seemed to be seriously totalled from her standing up attempt earlier. "I always knew. That's why I kept on letting you go."

"What are you talking about?" Goku was quite unsure what to think. He was the strongest man on the planet, why would he need to retire?

"Because..." and Chichi's voice was quieter than ever. "Whenever you went off to fight...I comforted myself with the thought that I could always be here, to patch you up and take care of you. I was scared of whether or not you'd come back to me...like that one time you didn't come back..."

Chichi trailed off, the thought clearly too unpleasant to bring up. "But...when I'm gone-"

"Don't say that, you-"

"WHEN I'm gone, who will be waiting at home when you burst in half dead when another Cell happens?"

Goku opened his mouth to argue, but closed it again at the sight of his wife's face, not flushed with anger this time, but whiter than snow. Chichi had rested her head back to lie down and her eyes had slowly begun to close. "Promise me."

"Chichi, what's wrong?!"

"Promise me..."

"Honey, you're hands are freezing!"

"Promise me!" Goku jumped when she raised her voice out of nowhere, but did not leave his wife's side.

"Okay; okay I promise, jeez!"

Chichi's eyes were tiny slits when they opened and the smile was almost imperceptible. She blinked hard to get the tears out of her eyes. Her grip on Goku's hand was starting to slacken.

"Chichi?" Goku whispered reality dawning on him as horror gripped his heart. The tears had started to flow out in earnest and Chichi had managed to grin up at her husband.

"You know...this one time...I told someone about you. How I married a super hero from another world, about how we moved to a little house on a mountain top...how he gave me two beautiful smart children, who are big successes now...and she didn't believe me."

Chichi giggled, it was hoarse and her voice was slightly raspier afterwards. Goku felt a lump come into his throat, and his eyes began to fill up too.

"I guess...that's just how special what you gave me was...and...I'm sorry It couldn't last forever."

"Please don't say that" Goku couldn't hear the birds anymore, nothing in the world existed but that one spot where he knelt. Chichi's smile faded, and she looked truly peaceful. Her grip was getting looser by the second, but Goku hung on all the tighter for it.

"Hey...you'll...keep your promise...right?" When Chichi spoke now, it was in a whisper, and she did not open her eyes. Goku leaned in, desperate to keep her close to him. He grabbed her hands more directly, and she gripped his in returned, but only barely.

"If you helped me, then I could."

...

Silence followed the moments upon moments Goku waited for a reply. The terrible fear that he had been quashing in his stomach was starting to boil over, and he was just about to remove his hands from his beloved, when they tightened ever so slightly around his own.

"...Oh I'll be with you Goku...my dear...Goku"

There was a long final exhale, and Chichi's hands slackened completely.

"No, don't! _Come on…you can do it! You're ok, just take my hand. Chichi?!"_

Reality was trying to set in but Goku couldn't let it, he wouldn't believe this was happening; he didn't want to believe it. But the absence of motion in his better half's chest where there had been a lot a moment before made it clear. Goku leaned over his wife's body, his own hands just as shaky as hers had been before...Goku leaned in, and kissed his wife on the lips...for the last time.

Then he fell back, and gave in to despair. He still thought the birds merely on mute, but they did not sing once the deed was done, they sat in their trees outside the house in vigil. They refrained from breaking the silence in what seemed to be a final terminal gift. It seemed to say: 'Goodbye, and thank you for everything.'

* * *

"Kakarot, hey Kakarot!"

Vegeta called out before knocking roughly on the front door of the dark house, only to have it swing on its hinges and scraped on the dusty floor, coming to a stop when the door was half open. The darkness within did not deter Vegeta, or his bad mood. Shoving the door open fully and storming in.

"Kakarot! Get out here!"

Vegeta marched around Goku's dark house, throwing open doors and flicking on lights. He almost wished he hadn't, the place was in terrible shape, the dust and messy floor gave it an air of neglect. A twinge of concern flitted across Vegeta's mind just for an instant. He didn't know why, that fool would get acupuncture before he let anything happen to that wife of his. Vegeta stopped at the thought of the word 'wife', his finger on a light switch. It was after all... two years ago now... he switched on the light and continued his search.

Vegeta found Goku in the master bedroom, sitting on a wooden chair next to his sleeping wife. The old fool's face was alarming, chalk white and emotionless, inconsolable. Vegeta had never seen him like that before, and as he opened his mouth to try and snap him out of whatever trance he was in, Vegeta saw that Kakarot was holding his wife's pale limp hand, and understanding broke over Vegeta like a wave over a sinking ship.

Goku's chin lazily rose at Vegeta's presence; his face was limp like his wife's, it had none of it peace. It was saggy and grey in the dingy light, flecked with dry tear stains. His eyes were blotchy and red, pink and bloodshot from lack of sleep. Vegeta thought that he must have been crying all day. He said nothing as Vegeta approached him, but his head sagged back down again when Vegeta was close enough to speak without shouting.

"Is...Is she...?" Vegeta asked softly. Goku spoke in a croaky weary whisper, eroded by hours of despair. But it sounded on the verge of further sobs.

"Vegeta...I...I don't..." But words failed him and Goku fell silent again. Vegeta turned to look at Chichi, her grey patchy hair and her vacant expression. He would not show it, but the sight of her lifeless body was genuinely upsetting to him. She had always been so fierce and full of life...yet here she was; the wife of Kakarot...stone dead.

"I could pull some strings back in the city...get her a big tomb." Vegeta turned back to Goku, and saw him shake his head. He had gotten weakly to his feet, the same lowly emptiness in his eyes, but a scowl of conviction replacing his pallid expression.

"No, she lived here...I don't want that to stop."

Vegeta nodded and looked back at Chichi. "I guess we should bury her then; come on, this place is depressing."

* * *

The sun had started to set over the mountain and the shadow of the house began to lengthen in the deep orange light, along with the broad white stone that sat before it. A large patch of recently shifted earth lay before two shadowy figures as they looked at the stone. In a flash of motion, the one on the left had sliced the stone back with was seemed to be his own hand, until it resembles a rectangle. The man on the right then leant down in front of it for a few long seconds. When he drew back, words had been burned into the shiny stone. A monument for future generations to see and remember:

 _ **Here lies Chichi, a passionate and loving wife and mother.**_

Goku stepped back to admire the grave, he had wanted to write more, but did not feel all too poetic right now. Somehow it felt better to just keep it short and sweet. He sniffed and felt Vegeta tap him on the shoulder.

"Kakarot; let's go, I want a word."

"Sure thing...just gimm'e a sec" and Goku vanished into his house once again. It was a good ten minutes before he returned, Vegeta was actually about to go in after him when Goku emerged, clutching a short orange stick in his hand. It was his power pole. Vegeta had no idea what the silly thing was, oblivious to the sentimental value that it held for Goku, how he had held this pole since he was a child, how he was wearing it when he met her. Goku walked slowly over to the grave, holding the pole in both his hands, kneeling down and placing the small weapon against the white stone.

"Until we meet again."


	9. Rubella

The thick smell of burning wood made Weiss' eyes water as she shouldered her team member through the brush. Yang walked with her, but could not manage brisk motion; the blonde stumbled slightly as Weiss pulled her forward. For all the strength that she had shown up to this point in their daring escape, Yang's body had finally started to concede to the pain and fatigue of her injury. The colour had faded from her cheeks again, and her eyes were rolling lazily, sometimes closing altogether.

Weiss might have been concerned if she wasn't carrying Yang Xiao Long: the human ballistic missile. Weiss had seen her survive worse than this in the short time they'd known each other. But she didn't need to carry an unconscious super model through the woods, for physical reasons as well as defending her reputation as a Schnee.

"Stay awake, it's not far to the next village. We can find a doctor there and- what the hell is up with this smoke!?" Yang raised her head a little and smiled ruefully at her partner.

"You could move faster without me..."

"Well I have two arms to lug around, so you should be better off than me." Weiss snapped, although she felt a slight pang of guilt at how insensitive she was being towards Yang's injury. In truth she really did feel for her, but also knew that the anger and embarrassment were what kept spurring Yang on. Weiss was not going to let doubt and self loathing weigh her team member down, she was heavy enough without a dump truck worth of self pity on her back.

She did understand what Yang had meant, but Weiss could not let herself even consider it. She had pulled Yang from the jaws of that terrorist madman and she wasn't going to let Yang just quit. She wasn't losing anything else today.

The tree line had started to appear with a red tint in the direction of the burning smell, it didn't take a genius to work out that the forest was on fire, one which could spread to the village which was her and Yang's destination. Weiss was concerned as to what she was supposed to do: fulfil her duty and go help extinguish the flame, or carry her bloody and delirious friend to a doctor where she could receive proper medical treatment. Yang's stumbling intervention put her internal conflict to rest however, as she lurched forward and attempted to get closer to the flames.

"What are you doing Idiot? Trying to get us both fried!?" Yang pitifully struggled against Weiss.

"But the fire could...people might...we have to help."

"You aren't in any condition to help yourself, let alone anyone else."

With an odd amount of strength, Yang pulled in the same direction again. "But fire...the white fang...Ruby might be..."

Yang fell silent amidst a series of hard coughs and did not speak again once they were finished. But there were traces of tears in her dizzy eyes. Weiss blinked furiously for a few moments; it was because of the smoke, she convinced herself it was.

"...Alright, we'll...go and have a look."

Yang did not need to thank her, so she just gave a toothy grin that showed more of pain than happiness, but gratitude all the same. She had made the choice that it was worth a look and that Yang could be right, Blake and Ruby could be there. She just had to-

"W-wait!"

A rough, forceful whisper came from the foliage just to the left of the two huntresses. Weiss jumped out of her skin, whereas Yang sluggishly turned her head in the direction of the weird voice. Lying with his head just in the open was an old man, with a bushy beard and a widow's peak. It was clear that he had recently fallen out of the tree because of the twigs and pine needles that were stuck in his spiky hair. His eyes glowed with malice but at the same time seemed to be avoiding eye contact. Weiss understandably just stared at him for a few moments before answering.

"Are you...okay?"

"Of course not!" the old man's rage seemed taxing on his breathing, so he tried to reign in his temper for the time being. "Look, I'm...running out of time. My...acquaintance is in danger and I need to warn him about something. Every fibre of my being wants to throw up as I say this, but I need your h...your heee..."

"Help?" Weiss politely finished the sentence for the old man, whose face instantly relaxed at the prospect of not having to finish.

"That yes, I need to be taken to where that fire has broken out, I can't move, so you'll have to drag me." Weiss leaned in, her curiosity peaked.

"Do you know who is responsible for that" Yang muttered from behind Weiss' back. The old man was definitely not meeting their gaze now as he spoke; there was self loathing thick on his face and in his voice.

"Yes...I didn't see her face, but I saw her eyes. They were bright yellow, and fiery. She snuck up on me up there," The man gestured to the area just above the tree he was lying beneath. "She came up behind me and...I don't know how but, she stole my energy. It's all gone." The old man looked as if being caught off guard like this was a matter of deepest shame.

Weiss raised her eyebrows; she wanted to ask quite a few questions at that moment. What was this 'energy' this man was talking about, and why would anyone want to steal it? What power could an old man like this possibly have, and didn't his description of that assailant share some resemblance to the woman that attacked Ruby during the dance? But a sudden realisation dawned on her that overshadowed all the other thoughts in the Heiress' head.

"It was you! You were the flying man that saved Neon and Flynt from that insane faunus!" The man nodded his head. Yang shifted slightly to get a closer look at his face.

"You're telling me that this _senior citizen_ can actually _fly_?"

"That's not important!" The old man exclaimed, a vein throbbing in his temple. " _Yes_ , I can fly, and _yes_ I helped two weaklings escape a masked ginger with a sword! I can explain everything once I reach Kakarot! Whoever stole my strength has no hope of controlling that much energy! They could damage the entire world!"

Weiss stood up straight and sighed.

"I'm sorry sir, but I need to carry my friend here, I can't carry both of you. You'll just have to..." Weiss tried to think of something, but no answers came to her. She was only one woman and there was nobody around to appeal to. The old man's lips thinned for a moment before he spoke again, in a slightly desperate tone.

"Wait, I have an idea, you don't have any food, do you?"

Both Weiss and Yang honestly shook their heads. The old man looked up at the trees above them and scanned them for something.

"There!" he pointed with his nose to directly above where Yang was standing.

This gave the heiress new hope, whipping out her rapier and aiming it at the trees above, she pulled Yang out of the way. There was a flash of white light and suddenly, speared on the end of the pointed narrow blade was a shiny red apple. Leaving a few moments to bask in the surprise and admiration of her company, Weiss removed the fruit from the blade and held it to the old guy's lips. He took a savage bite and chewed at a ferocious speed. Without a moment's hesitation, the old man rose to his feet and seized the apple, devouring the piece of fruit in seconds as he did. In a bizarre manner, the food seemed to be giving him strength. He still appeared a little shaky and Weiss lurched forward, handing him the rapier which had revived him.

"Use this"

The old man looked incensed by the kind smile on the girls face; she was beginning to make him feel pathetic. He scowled and marched forward towards the forest fire, his step slightly marred by tiredness, as was Yang's. The odd troop marched on in pursuit of the distant inferno.

"You couple of idiots better be alright." Weiss thought, before shivering and gripping Yang harder. Her thoughts of the two girls were more significant than she knew; as at that exact moment, both of them stood up in a house, looking into the wide eyes of another old man.

* * *

"Fuse." Said Goku, in a voice of forced calm as he pushed his form flat against the flimsy oak door.

''What?" Said Blake, clearly confused and worried that Goku was still hallucinating. "Mr. Son, what are you talking abo-"

"Fuuuuuuuuuuse." Goku's smile betrayed him, as it amplified his panicked expression. "Right now, if you wouldn't mind."

"But-" Blake began again, but asked no further questions as a new, hysterical look came over Goku's face that she had never seen before. "FUUUUUUSE!"

Blake looked perplexedly at Ruby who returned her confusion, but they did not feel like disobeying Goku in his vulnerable state. Nimbly, the two huntresses leapt on top of the table and assumed the poses they had been taught. A final nod was shared between them, and they performed the technique.

"FU-SION-HA!"

A thick white light burst from an indiscernible source and enveloped the tiny room. Goku felt the door creak and whine under the pressure of his back upon it, as the transformation pushed him back, as a new girl stepped forward on the table, as Goku's jaw dropped.

"ALRIGHT!"

There, in the baggy white pants tied down at the waist with a blue ribbon, and wearing that odd orange and black jacket was the fusion of Ruby Rose and Blake Belladonna. Amidst a sea of his other mistakes, Goku sorely wished that he had considered the fact that two women were attempting this transformation, not men. Goku removed his hands from his eyes for a split second before replacing them again and felt embarrassment pang across him again.

The girl before him was a short, fat and rather unpleasant looking woman. Her hair was long like Blake's, but red dashes could be seen here and there like with Ruby's style. No cat ears here bizarrely, instead two small rose buds appeared to be jutting out f the top of the strange girls head. Her eyes were yellow like the young Faunus girl, but the makeup that she wore had been somewhat skewed by the transformation, making it look heavily applied and ugly.

But what had forced Goku's eyes shut had not been the ugly nature of the botched fusion, but rather the result of said fusion jumping up in the air and declaring itself to be 'In da house.' The unfortunate loose nature of the fusion jacket combined with the somewhat increased cup size as a result of the two girls becoming one, had led to an unfortunate situation - a situation where both the stubby woman's breasts popped out for the entire world to see. In such a high stress situation, Goku did not know whether to laugh or cry, though he knew he could not open his eyes again. He had soiled his wife's memory enough for one day.

"Hey!" The fusion shouted at Goku, in both the voices of Ruby and Blake. "Sorry about that, didn't expect there to be so much to hide." The voice that emanated from behind Goku's closed eyes sounded pleased with itself, in a way that was starting to make the old Saiyan feel physically sick.

"Oh man, we're in trouble now. It wasn't your form, that was flawless...could she really be that strong?..."

Goku felt around to find something, anything to help this little oddball cover up. He was lucky to find a length of rope sitting next to the closed front door, a remnant of some old piece of farming equipment that he'd left lying around. Trying not to look at what he was handing it to, Goku thrust the rope towards the new kid and she caught it.

"Use that to...hide yourself a bit."

Goku felt his stomach begin to loosen as the girl pulled the rope into a tight knot around her chest, binding the jacket closed. This solved the problem somewhat; it at least gave Goku the liberty of opening his eyes again. This did not succeed in making her look any less ridiculous, but it would at least keep her...keep her from... Goku shook his head and brought reality crashing back down around him.

"Listen, Adam is here. I have no time to explain, you'll have to just...stall him for 30 minutes."

Goku smiled weakly at the obviously flustered girl, but had no time to explain further, he could hear footsteps gaining dangerous ground on the house. He raised his hand to his forehead...and he was gone. The girl was confused, and she glanced around to see where the old timer had gone, could he go invisible or something? But she knew what she had to do, she may be a different person, but her mind was that of the two girls that made up her body, and they both knew what they wanted to do to Adam.

* * *

The faunus in question was smiling pleasantly to himself as his white fang subordinate approached the front door, he was admiring the forest fire, and how its beauty and destructive power reminded him of his glorious revolution. He was still slightly shocked that woman could pull off something like that in a matter of a few seconds. How powerful had she become?

The front door of the cabin burst open from the other side, knocking the burly white fang member to the ground with the force of impact. The scene before Adam was so strange that it took several double takes before he could say a word.

His best lieutenant, one that he had appointed personally, was now lying unconscious beneath a wooden door, on top of which stood a dumpy pale little creature that Adam did not recognise. She was wearing a ridiculous assortment of baggy clothes that did very little to hide her excess fat. Her heavily shadowed eyes were wide and mean looking, and her stubby index finger was point straight at the approaching white fang.

"HEY! ASSHOLE! I'VE COME FOR YA!"

Adam was extremely surprised by this sudden unexpected stranger, so much so that he forgot to respond for a moment. He managed after a few seconds of visual scrutiny and a quick pinch on his cheek to check this was actually happening.

"Uhhh...who...no, _what_ the _hell_ are you supposed to be?"

The girl stroked one of her many chins and her face broke into a vicious leer, so wide that it reached both of her obscured ears and bared all of her teeth like a piranha.

"You don't know my name?" the girl asked Adam, in a much quieter voice, but no less grandiose. "My name is...yeah..."

The girl seemed to be holding off with introductions for dramatic effect. Adam felt he was in a good enough mood to humour this stranger but felt his patience begin to wear thin as the thirteenth second passed. Her smile vanished as she declared her name to the very heavens.

"The name's _Rubella_ , conqueror of worlds! A warrior in a league of my own – and your worst nightmare!"


	10. A promise no more

The crimson blade found its Mark, and the girl identified as Rubella was thrown back as it made contact with her stomach and with a loud crash as she smashed into the wall of the cabin. The old building had put up with its fair share of punishment, but the force of impact was enough to smash it to pieces. The splintered remains looked jagged and hazardous as they enveloped the girl. Adam was sure that if his blade hadn't killed her, the rubble surely would.

But if Adam had felt any assurance of his own superiority, the shaking rubble swiftly put it to rest. Within seconds, the odd girl was shooting out of the debris and laughing at the leader of the white gang, her hands placed mockingly on her hips. The surrounding horde collectively drew breath; nobody Adam cut had ever gotten back up again before. Adam did not go red, but his iron grip on his hilt and sheath tightened almost imperceptibly.

Rubella stood waste deep in the remains of the house, and appeared to be incapable of pulling herself out. She awkwardly began to claw her way through the mess between her and the white fang. This took several long moments as her baggy clothes frequently snagged on bits of jagged splintered wood. Her composure not shaken in the slightest, Rubella beamed smugly at Adam's stony expression as reached a hand into her back pocket, drawing forth a long black balloon. She held it out in front of her and allowed it to swing back and forth like a hypnotists watch.

Adam's patience was at the brink of non existence, he decided to give this idiot girl one final chance to impress him before he turned her into sushi. He did not feel all too self conscious about his failed attempt to spill her guts, this was not something that he was used to but was certainly something he could handle. Assuming that his silence was her window to continue, Rubella raised the balloon to her lips and blew.

The balloon extended as a normal balloon would but as its rubbery form became fully elongated; a puff of light purple mist appeared, smoke bomb like, from nowhere. From the dust cloud appeared a long purple halberd, its blade curved and fading into black. Adam raised his own weapon in anticipation for the strike but noticed that as Rubella shook with confident laughter, the blade wobbled with her. The silly thing was made of rubber and hot air, just like its owner.

Adam returned the smile of the short girl before him, and rather unexpectedly sheathed his sword. Throwing the weapon into the hands of one of his soldiers, who held it like it was some kind of holy relic. Still smirking, Adam began his advance on Rubella, flexing and clicking his muscles in anticipation.

"DON'T GET COCKY; MY WEAPON COULD PIERCE THE VERY HEAVENS!" Rubella declared in an almost Shakespearean manner, but she could not hide the small beads of sweat forming on her brow as Adam's smile became more malevolent, more murderous.

"I'm pretty sure the girls I'm looking for are around here somewhere..." Adam whispered as he got within obliteration distance. Rubella charged forward out of the wood remains and swung the blade as hard as she could at Adam's face. He caught it easily between his thumb and index finger. He needn't have bothered; the thing had no lethal power to it. "And you're going to tell me where they are."

Rubella pulled and yanked on the weapon, but Adam's grip was unwavering and hers was not. This became apparent when Adam's fist thrust forward with a hard punch straight into Rubella's vast stomach. Rubella's hands shot off the useless weapon and her body sailed ragdoll like through the air, screeching like some mad parrot before landing in a heap on the ground several yards away. She did not attempt to get up for a few long seconds as she groaned and shuddered on the floor. Adam had decided to take his time with this girl; after all, Blake and the other girl would probably jump in to try and save her if they were watching from some unseen hiding place. He tightened his grip hard and the inflatable halberd burst into pieces just in time for Rubella to sit up and see.

"HEY!" Rubella shouted in total outrage. "THAT WAS AN ANTIQUE!"

"Gary... my sword." Adam whispered to the faunus who was holding the sheathed blade in his trembling fingers. He extended the weapon immediately; somewhat fearfully as though he felt his hands were not worthy of the tasks they were performing. Adam took the sword in his prominent hand and; without unsheathing it, began to walk towards Rubella, smacking the weapon in his other hand threateningly like a club.

The fused girl's lack of confidence as well as competence had started to show, the beads of sweat on her forehead had returned with prejudice and the stubby hands had curled into fists to mask the fact that they were shaking. She did not expect him to be so powerful, it looked like the great and powerful Rubella the destroyer had no choice. She had wanted to hold back and give the kid a chance to win at the very least, but it looked like there was nothing else for it.

" _ **PREPARE YOURSELF FOR MY TRUE POWER! YOU FOOL; YOU'VE REALLY MADE ME MAD NOW!"**_

Rubella reignited her bravado as best she could, but there was no returning Adam's investment in the idea of her being an actual threat. He walked forward with a swift and confident step and continued smiling whilst smacking his palm with the swords sheathed blade, almost like a mocking novelty clapping motion. Rubella's ears had gone rather pink, but she continued with her display of impressive superiority. Raising her hands to the heavens and taking in a huge breath, closed her eyes, and blew.

A cloud of rose petals burst forth from the large mouth and danced through the air in a vibrant display. Adam and the white fang all drew their weapons in shock; they had not expected such a strange power from a seemingly talentless girl. The flower petals spun and flew around Rubella, almost as if they were examining her, and as the cloud of red began to thin, a second figure could be made out standing next to the caster of this bizarre spell.

It appeared to be the exact double of it master, just as fat and ugly looking, but lacking a certain sense of form, the details skewed somewhat by the fact that it was not flesh and blood. In an instant the cloud had vanished, leaving a very smug looking Rubella standing with her arms folded and the mysterious new creature in a ridiculous looking combat pose. She had crafted a clone from rose petals.

* * *

Goku reappeared in the barn he was using to house his guests. The lights were out and the door was only ajar, so Goku could hide whilst still being able to hear how the battle was going. It did not sound very promising, failed fusions never were, but if she could just hold out until Vegeta got back. Goku convulsively looked out of a second story window and peered at the surrounding skies. He had to be coming back soon; he would surely be getting hungry by now. But his words still sat in Goku's mind, **'You're on your own.** ' But the old Saiyan shook his head to get those ridiculous to stay quiet; Vegeta would never be so heartless. He was a hard man, but he always came through in the end. Goku sighed as he heard the sound of a two girls being struck and falling to the ground.

"I just have to wait it out here, just until Vegeta gets here..." Goku whispered to nobody in particular. "They won't search the property until-"

"HEY! I FOUND AN OLD GUY! HE'S IN THE B..."

The man in the white mask who stood in the doorway of the barn buckled under the weight of the Saiyan's grip around his mouth, rendering speech entirely impossible. Goku raised his hand to the back of his head and struck the base of his skull. The white fang member was unconscious before he hit the floor. Trying hard not to make a sound, Goku dragged the body into one of the disused horse stalls.

'Damn, that was a close one...well at least I got him before he alerted any-'

"HEY, CREIG SAID SOMEONE WAS IN HERE! ...I SEE HIM, HE'S-"

A straight punch knocked the second man off his feet and Goku managed to get behind him to drag the body next to Creig. He cursed himself for not being quicker with the first silencing. But he had still managed to keep his hands clean and avoid detection-

"HAS ANYONE SEEN PEDRO?! MAYBE HE'S IN THIS BARN!"

'Son of a-'Goku thought angrily as he detained-

"IN THE SHED! TO ARMS!"

"...Oh fiddle sticks."

* * *

"SPREAD OUT! PICK THIS PLACE CLEAN! I WANT ANYBODY HIDING HERE AT MY FEET IN MINUTES NOT HOURS!"

At the command of their leader, the white fang invading force abandoned their ranks and moved forward past the ruins of the cottage and towards the barn. But Rubella was ready. With lightning fast...well relatively notable speed, she and her doppelganger separated and sprung into action. The rose double covered the encroaching horde and the original charged Adam. Adam mockingly put up his guard, clearly not intending to fight seriously. Then; quite suddenly, many things happened in the same moment. The sturdy edge of a sword hilt collided with Rubella's forehead, causing her to fall to the ground, concussed. At the same instant, just before the rose duplicate could make contact with the white fang, it burst into flames and fell to pieces.

Rubella tried to stand up, but her knees were feeling weak for some reason, the concussion made the feeling of helplessness even worse. Her vision still worked, but felt hazy and slow witted. She heard the crowd of white fang gasp at something and saw Adam look up in surprise, his mouth hanging open in awe of something. Only when Rubella turned her thick head to where the faunus did she sees what was causing his jaw to fail.

Goddess.

No beautiful woman, no otherworldly perfection. This was a simple manifestation of all the wrath and terror that the idea of a deity could inflict. A being so adorn with burning power, It was hard to tell if it was indeed a she. The slight feminine figure was all the eyes had to go on. All other features were wreathed in flames. An infernal being from hell shone over head, just mere feet from the ground on which the mortals walked. All you could see for eyes were two pure while slits in the red angry flames. Until the dissipated, and allowed for a pair of human eyes to appear out of nothingness, and following that, shoulders, a torso, arms, legs, and finally a pair of pale bare feet that met the ground with a delicate yet smouldering touch. When she walked across the ground, steaming footprints of almost liquid earth branded the earth in her wake. One might expect the voice of an angel, of choirs and salvation. Or one might expect the sinister whisper of the devil himself. What absolutely nobody was expecting was the voice to sound like a mildly amused twenty something year old woman.

"Heh...I'll never understand the white fang, why you play with your food."

"Cinder...m-Miss Fall..." Adam stammered, as he got down on one knee. Paralysed with fear would have been an understatement. Adam seemed a totally different person; he had never grovelled at the feet of a human in his life. "Please...forgive me." Cinder reached a hand forward and caressed Adam's chin, pulling his face into eye contact with her. Adam winced; her fingers were obviously still extremely hot.

"I'm glad you're here...I need a workforce to locate someone for me." She turned her head to the large gathering of faunus behind her. "I'm sure it will align with your goal of finding the girl."

"Ma'am, please tell me" Adam's voice shook with the sheer power he was witnessing. "How did you achieve this...this miracle? Did the fall maiden-" But a scorching finger placed on Adam's lips silenced him instantly.

"The maiden contributed...but this is a story for another time. Let's just say I...found the power to destroy an entire forest without even trying...in the most unlikely of places."

Cinder stopped talking and directed her attention to the pile of cloth and fat a few feet from her and her subject. Whatever it was seemed to be wheezing an attempting to stand. _IT_ looked sweaty and fit to burst, and it did, leaning forward and vomiting all over the radish laden earth. Cinders face was expressionless, assessing the situation. "And...What is this supposed to be?"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING 'THAT' BITCH?!"

"I couldn't tell you, she jumped us when we tried to break down the door." Said Adam, looking rather disgusted at the vomit coating the girl's chins. Cinder smirked.

"Well, I suppose there is no need of it." Cinder raised her hand and pointed it at the girl. Rubella looked up at Cinder with large frightened eyes. "I will finish it quickly."

Rubella staggered and stumbled to try and get up, to defend herself. But the length of rope that had been hiding her shame had slipped down around her ankles, throwing off her balance. She decided to beg

"Y...you don't have to do this, Bitch was just-"

An orb of fiery light surged forth from distortion around Cinder's hand, with immense speed the orb shot into Rubella's stomach. The orb caught her in the chest and pushed Rubella back into the rubble of the house, the force of which caused the very debris to break into more debris. Cinder stood with a smouldering, smoking hand admiring her handy new ability before turning back to Adam.

"That felt satisfying." Adam looked on in abject fear; he had never seen such a power before. It was not just fire; it was something else...something far stronger. "Anyway, back to business at h-" Cinder gripped her head and grimaced, a terrible pain shot through her amoeba like a bullet, visions of a scene she had never witnessed flashed through her mind, for an instant she saw a head. A fat pale head, mechanical...lifeless...

"Cinder!" Cinder heard a voice call out to her and her eyes snapped open. Panting slightly, she felt her forehead, which was throbbing. She was down on one knee, and Adam Taurus was kneeling next to her, posturing his hand in a gesture of help, but Cinder brushed it aside and stood up by herself.

"It's nothing. Let us go."

* * *

'Okay...only... the thirty second man... who had to be silenced, but at least...at least...'

Goku had long since stopped keeping score, as he fought his way through a legion of his fellow man. That feeling of exhilaration had returned with redoubled force. The enemy's lack of physical strength was compensated for by their weapons, and many new weapons at that. His old friend crossbow guy made a return, but he finally got his fair dues in the form of a roundhouse kick to the heart. Two guys with exploding war hammers ended up golf swinging each other through the ceiling courtesy of instant transmission. One poor bastard tried using a flaming whip and ended up getting yanked through the air and crashing into a hand rail groin first. Yet none of these dopes seemed at all afraid of Goku, possibly because the cost of hesitation was worse than physical injury.

Goku wasn't complaining. As far as he was concerned, this situation was simply an excuse to do what he knew in his heart was what he loved. He was really feeling the fruit of his recovery, his reflexes were sharper than they had been in years, and the world around him seemed to move a little slower, a bit easier to manage. He would have been happy to fight them all day if he had to, but as the barn doors clanged; the fighting stopped instantly in an almost cartoonish fashion, right down to raised weapons un-cocking their various projectiles. One guy even threw a boomerang and was not permitted to move in order to catch it upon its return, leading to the obvious conclusion that had him roll unconscious down a flight of stairs.

The doors had been pushed open fully to reveal and frame the leader of the white fang. His red hair was aflame with his semblance and his blade was set firmly in his gloved hand. Adam needed only jerk his head to the side and all of his men backed off, awkwardly shuffling past Goku and then past their boss back outside. But it looked like neither of the players in the scene was interested in talking, as Adam leaped forward bringing his blade down on Goku's shoulder, he semblance would cut this old geezer in half, and then Cinder could make her move. If that was the plan; it certainly backfired on Adam, as Goku effortlessly caught his blade and snapped a large portion of the blade off it in a single motion.

It took Adam a few seconds to realise that his invincible sword, the weapon that he had one hit killed countless previous enemies...had been snapped in half by a pensioner. Goku didn't really get why this guy was so upset from a toothpick getting broken in a totally repairable way, but he didn't really care. But Adam did not let his grief get in the way of his focus. As fast as he could, Adam threw the sword down, grabbed Goku around the middle and hung on fast.

"NOOOW!"

Goku looked down at Adam's malicious grin with bemusement and was about to throw him off when he heard a whooshing noise behind him, Goku only managed to turn his head in time to see a pair of glowing yellow eyes.

* * *

"Nice try." Goku gloated at Adam felt the ground fall out from under him and he held onto Goku for dear life. "But sneak attacks are dirty you know, sucker punches are for amateurs."

Adam felt like he was dreaming, this did not make even an inch of sense. All he knew was that he had been holding this guy down for Cinder to drain his power, when he had raised his fingers to his forehead and then they were both suspended over an island in middle of nowhere ocean.

"I'm pretty sure that someone will find you eventually, but I need you out of the way for now." And with that, Goku picked up Adam, his clawing fingers wrenched off Goku's clothes, and dropped him to the earth. He saw a dust cloud of human making contact with dirt. Goku used instant transmission to teleport to where the kid had landed and inspected him. He was roughed up a bit from the fall, but didn't seem terminally injured and Goku saw that the guy was still moving.

"Sorry buddy, I know you and I aren't exactly on the same level, but I have no intension of fighting you. It's not my job to take you out, I don't have that right. I'm going to train the ones who do have that right, and then they'll beat you themselves." With a brief nod, Goku turned, and disappeared.

* * *

Cinder looked angrily around the wooden cabin, perplexed that anybody, let alone an old man could move that fast. She spun around and thought she saw movement through the window, but the flash of red was gone almost immediately, so she just assumed it was one of Adam's men. But where was Adam? How could someone disappear so suddenly and take someone with them? Was this guy some kind of ninja? There was an odd noise like a seagull flying into a wood chipper, and Goku reappeared. Unfortunately Cinder was facing in the opposite direction, so she did not see how Goku had entered the room.

"Sorry about that, I think I'd like to fight you fair though." Goku laughed and rubbed the back of his head as Cinder jumped and spun around. Her dignity forgotten, she began to rant and rave at Goku, voicing her confusion.

"Where did you go, why are you so fast, where is Taurus, and why are you laughing at me?!" Cinder was beginning to lose her nit for some reason; there was something about that big stupid grin that was making her hot blood run molten.

"He he, sorry that's right, I guess you're pretty confused right now, huh?" But Cinder had heard enough, she lunged forward and tried to grab Goku's arm, but Goku backed off just in time, Cinders momentum spun out of control and she smacked into a wall. There was a crunch of damaged wood as she removed her face from the large dent in the wall. Something of the fire that Knocked Rubella out was now present on Cinder again, her form was once again becoming adorn in flame. Goku watched this and continued to smile, this was great, and he had never felt so alive. He couldn't wait for what this weird lady's gimmick was. But something about her was freaking Goku out; she seemed to be willing to fight him with her bare hands, which he had no encountered in the native people of this land so far, he was aware that weapons were the norm here. There was also something unnerving about that energy she was emitting, it was not that aura stuff that Blake had described, no that was defiantly ki...and it felt familiar.

* * *

Weiss threw her most powerful ice spell at the wall of flame between them and their destination; but something about this red flame was resisting even the most complex of glyphs. Irritated, she turned back to Vegeta.

"It's no good; I'm not getting us through." Vegeta, sensing how close they were shot back straight away.

"Can you get us to an altitude where we can see over the stupid thing then?"

"Y-yes, of course."

Weiss made to cast a projection rune beneath all of their feet, but Yang moved first, and the way she moved made Weiss forget to cast the spell. She ran at a tree, ran up it and caught the lowest branch with her arm, and proceeded to climb the tree like nothing was wrong with her.

Weis stood in outraged silence for a few moments before Vegeta spoke again, in tones of introspection.

"She has someone in there doesn't she?"

"Well...we both might, but she's still in need of medical attention."

"Understand...she has a personal stake in this, that's all the healing she needs in her own head right now." Vegeta genuinely smiled at the wounded blonde, climbing the tree with athletic speed. "Yes...she would make a good Saiyan."

"What was that?" Weiss asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Nothing" Vegeta added, suddenly business like, "Come on, do your little magic and get us up there."

With a quick flick of her rapier to re-invigorate the glyph, Weiss cast the spell correctly, shooting Vegeta and herself high into the air. They landed far more gracefully than expected on the top most sturdy part of tree that Yang had chosen. Fortunately, this tree was right on the edge of the flames, but not so close that the flames would spread to it any time soon.

"Over there" Vegeta pointed to a barn in a clearing that resided beyond the hulking wall of fire. The large structure had its doors thrown wide open and had a lot of white fang outside it. There didn't seem to be any possible way of getting in unseen. Weiss noticed that Vegeta was also assessing this, if he did have some kind of monstrous power before, it must have been killing to not be able to use it. Whatever was going through Yang's head seemed to be distracting her from speech entirely. She stared hungrily into the flames, and the field beyond. When nobody said anything for a while, Weiss cleared her throat and spoke in what she hoped was an optimistic voice.

"Maybe we could go and get someone who could distract th-"

"Ruby." Yang whispered urgently.

Weiss looked straight at yang, whom had tensed and was staring straight at the clearing with unwavering eyes, despite the smoke."What, where?" Weiss asked, staring off into the middle distance. But too late.

With an earth shattering bang, Yang Xiao Long had launched herself into the air with her gauntlet and had sailed over the wall of fire. Sticking the landing with a parachute roll, the mutilated Huntress began yelling at the white fang, obviously trying to stop them from detecting Ruby. Weiss once again, felt outraged at this sudden physical ability. What had she been carrying her for? She was perfectly capable.

"Hurry, get us over!" Vegeta exclaimed.

Weiss didn't need to be told twice, and within seconds they were launched much like yang, over the flames. Things got hectic when they hit the ground. Yang attacked the white fang head on and quite remarkably, she was holding her own, her semblance seeming to compensate for her injured state. Weiss was only interested in finding Ruby, but Vegeta was no longer at her side, he had run off in pursuit of this 'Kakarot' whoever that was. Weiss did feel reluctant to leave Yang, but then the words 'ballistic missile' flitted across her mind, and she decided that Ruby should be their top priority. Weiss stepped back from the ensuing carnage and made a beeline for the barn.

* * *

"Uuuuuuh... oh man that was not good." Ruby murmured as she regained consciousness, and felt a light compress of detritus coating her body.

"Uhhgrgh...you can say that again..." said Blake, kicking a segment of a pillar off her leg. It took them both a minute to realise what had happened. They both squealed in disbelief.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH, I'M ME, AND YOU'RE YOU! BUT THAT MEANS?!" The girls exclaimed in unison, failing to notice the irony of this due to them realising they needed to be quiet. When they heard no commotion, Ruby risked a small glance out of the rubble that concealed her and her teammate.

Adam and Cinder could not be seen. Ruby assumed they must have gone inside to look for Goku. Ruby had no idea how Cinder had gotten so terrible, that couldn't be the power of the maiden, could it?

"Ruby, is it safe?"

"I think so; let's make a break for the barn, Goku said he'd be there."

Ruby made to leave, but Blake hesitated, and Ruby looked back at her with concern. Her eyes had that look in them again, the 'I just saw Adam' look.

"Blake, we need to go!"

"I know...but..."

Ruby looked down and saw that the young woman's hands were shaking. Ruby walked back to her and grasped her hand. "Don't worry; I'll have your back this time. We can do this together. He can't hurt you anymore, not now that you're not on his side." And in that instant, Blake believed her. She gripped back and the two made a dash for the barn.

As their backs hit the side of the barns hard walls, they ere both glad to have moved out of the open, as white fang began to file out of the barn, as if on orders. Ruby saw a small window to her left. Slowly, ever so slowly, she elevated herself and peered through. She saw no Adam, and no Goku, but a very confused looking Cinder, she was looking around the dark room as if she had just been pick pocketed. Blake grabbed Ruby's collar and dragged her down again in a convulsively harsh way.

"Get down, she almost saw you."

"Ow..."

"I-Is he in there?"

Ruby looked at Blake's face, it was indescribably terrified.

"No, but neither is Goku. Cinder is looking pretty confused right now, but so am I."

The commotion they had expected to hear earlier resounded from the army of white fang, who were now running away from the barn towards something else. Maybe grimm? No, no that was impossible, the fire wouldn't...

"Goku's back!" Blake nudged Ruby to get her attention, and Ruby jumped up to look through the window again. Sure enough Goku was back, it wasn't clear how...but he was, and he didn't look remotely harmed. Cinder had started to shout at him and there was something of a personal sting to the anger in her quivering voice. To Ruby, she sounded like someone with a really bad grudge.

" **Where did you go, why are you so fast, where is Taurus, and why are you laughing at me?!"**

When Goku laughed at the questions she asked, Cinder flew with a frightening speed right at Goku, but he managed to dodge and cause Cinder to hit the wall instead. Ruby and Blake felt the impact of from where they were standing on the other side of the barn, at least three ribs should have to be broken. Blake tugged on Ruby again to get her attention.

"I think we should go in."

"Bathroom window?"

"Bathroom window."

* * *

Goku deftly dodged three consecutive attacks from this mystery woman, first a projectile fire attack followed by a second, and finally, he slipped around the attempt she made to grab him. This seemed to tip Cinder over the edge; her face was almost as red as the fire that covered her hands.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU!?"

The question felt oddly nostalgic for Goku, he remembered Frieza asking him the same thing. He stood up straight and decided to be honest.

"I'm Goku, and I am a Saiyan who was raised on earth."

This non-answer just made Cinder even madder, she didn't even know why she felt such rage towards this man she had never met. For some reason, just hearing the name 'Goku' sent her into a fury.

"Damn right you are!" Both Goku and Cinder turned in symmetry. Vegeta stood in the doorway, resting his weight on the side of the left door.

"Vegeta!" Goku was glad to see the prince at last; he needed someone to back him up. Cinder looked far differently at Vegeta, a grimace of shameful irritation, as though she had failed to keep a secret.

"YOU!" Vegeta pointed at Cinder and shouted furiously "Don't get too confident, you may have my power, but unlike me, you lack all pride in your tactics!"

"What do you mean she has you power?" Goku looked puzzled.

"She's an energy thief Kakarot, don't let her touch you." Vegeta pointed maliciously at the scowling woman, relishing in her frustration. "Like that blimp of an android and his creator, Gero."

"Oh, I see." Goku smiled sarcastically at Cinder, who looked affronted. "So that what you and the boy were trying, wanted my energy huh?"

"If I can't have your energy...I'll just-" Cinder was cut off by the bathroom door bursting open and Ruby and Blake emerging from the small room, sweaty and dishevelled. No awkward questions were asked at that moment.

"Ruby! Blake!"

"Goku! Vegeta!"

"I'll just have to-"

"Kakarot! I arrived with two girls, they need assistance as well."

"Two girls", Ruby and Blake piped up in unison"what did they look like?"

"ILL JUST HAVE-"

"A princess with a pony tail, and a one armed blonde girl!"

The two girls looked at each other with joyful tears in their eyes and they began to cheer.

"THEY'RE ALRIGHT, THEY'RE ALRIGHT, THEY'RE ALRIGHT, THEY'RE ALRIG-"

" _ **STOP IGNORING ME!"**_

A fiery explosion of energy drew all eyes back to Cinder, who had assumed her original form of floating fire goddess. Her body had started to rise and one of her harms was facing the ceiling. With one colossal bang, Cinder had blown a hole in the ceiling. Goku readied himself for further energy stealing attempts, but Cinder did not seem interested in his power any more. She was looking over near where the white fang fought, with a single huntress no less. No loss.

" _ **USE YOU'RE MAGIC TO ESCAPE THIS IF YOU CAN, BUT EVEN IF YOU DISAPPEAR, YOUR MISERABLE LITTLE FRIENDS ARE DOOMED! I'LL BLOW THEM TO PIECES AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP ME!"**_

" _ **She's gonna what?!"**_ Said everyone.

Goku gasped and knew she was right, with Vegeta's ki she could destroy this whole area. He would have no time to find two girls he did not recognise in time, even with instant transmission. Ruby's speed wouldn't even be fast enough. He would have to stall this crazy lady, and the only way to buy Ruby enough time would be to...but he'd sworn never again. Goku lowered his fists, and directed his gaze to his shoes.

"Kakarot" Vegeta whispered in Goku's direction. "What's going to happen now?"

"Vegeta...I...I promised my wife..."

Cinder had assumed a pose that Vegeta and Goku both knew two well, the two arms postured out to either side of her, both collecting energy. Vegeta put his hand on Goku's shoulder. "You and me both." Goku stared at Vegeta, hardly believing his ears, Vegeta had never told him about the nature of Bulma's final moments. "Before she died, Bulma made me promise something as well."

"W-what?"

Vegeta smiled at Goku for the first time in years, his satisfaction on seeing Goku back on his feet was currently unsung, but the pride in Vegeta's smile showed that his plan and worked, as his smiles often did.

"I promised to make sure that I would continue to get stronger, and to make sure you never forgot who you are, and why you fought. You are Kakarot, a Saiyan who has bled for this world countless times, and you're going to do it again, the only way you know how."

Goku swallowed, he remembered how he had saved this world, through his own actions, through his friends and family's actions. All those villains bent on senseless destruction...like this one in the sky...like that guy on the day Chichi had left him. He remembered all the people he had saved... Krillin, Master Roshi, Bulma, Gohan, Pan...

"Alright, I'll do it."

Vegeta clapped Goku on the shoulder and then turned to the two girls.

"Pipsqueak, Catgirl, listen up! Your friends need to be in this room before this is over, Kakarot can get you and your friends out of here safely, got it?!"

In any normal circumstances, Ruby and Blake would have objected the nick names, but now seemed not the time. Ruby was gone in a flash of red and Blake followed at a similar pace. Goku faced the hole in the ceiling, where his opponent was in clear view, and breathed in through his nose. He felt the energy pounding through him, like some vast electrical current, just waiting for him to...

" _ **IN MERE MOMENTS, ALL YOU WILL FEEL...IS OBLIVION!"**_ An oddly familiar feeling of déjà vu came over Goku, but he could not figure out why.

Goku exhaled through his nose and opened his eyes, and looked directly at the charging attack in the sky. The time had come for him to fight, without holding back. No more promises, except one.

" _ **KAIO-KEN!"**_

Goku's body exploded with red light, and he felt the energy inside him surge to the surface. Goku curled his hands into that position that Vegeta instantly recognised. And now was the time, time to finish this.

" _ **Kaaaaaaaa"**_

"Yang!" Ruby yelled and yelled as she pelted through the white fang soldiers, searching for her sister. She found Yang pinned down by a guy with twin shotgun Tonfa's.

"Out of the way, you fool!" Ruby shrieked as she blindsided the attacker and knocked him out. There was the briefest of moments where the two sisters eyes met, before Ruby grabbed her one remaining arm and screamed at her "Yang, we need to get to the barn, it's our only way out!"

"Ruby, you don't know how worried I've been. Weiss had to-"

"NOT THE TIME!"

" **Meeeeeeee"**

"Weiss, look out!" Blake launched herself at Weiss and pulled her to the ground just as stray arrow hit the ground exactly where she had stood not moments before. They both scrambled to stand and Weiss embraced Blake like a sister. Blake had never had this happen before, so she just decided to chalk it up to shock. Yeah...that's what it is.

"I thought I'd never see you again." Weiss moaned into Blake's shoulder, clearly on the edge of tears. Blake assumed she had been through quite a bit, but there was no time to lose.

"Listen, we need to get to that barn, it's the only way to weather what's coming next."

"I...but...what's coming next?" Weiss stammered, still confused.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it's not good!"

" **Haaaaaaaa"**

"Alright, lead the way" Weiss and Blake grabbed each other's hand and ran for the barn.

Meanwhile, Ruby and Yang were fighting their way through the white fang to get at the barn in which stood their salvation. Ruby prioritised getting to the barn, but Yang was clearly trying to inflict as much damage as possible. She clearly would not be happy to learn that Adam was gone. "Hurry up you four!" Vegeta bellowed out from the door of the barn, before glancing back at Goku.

" _ **MEEEEEEEE!"**_

" _ **ITS OVER KAKAROT! FINAL FLAAASH!"**_

A staggering burst of golden light from the sky made it look like dawn had broken. All the white fang and huntresses stopped moving and looked up in awe of the sight. A stream of golden fiery ki blasted down from the heavens, aiming straight for Goku.

" _ **HAAAAAAAAAAA!"**_

The barn which was supposed to be the destination of escape exploded. Blue light surged upward from the ruins towards the golden light. The two clashed and the force was enough to knock over the entire white fang force in that meadow. The two streams appeared to be struggling against each other, neither strong enough to overpower the other. Ruby ripped her eyes away from it, and grabbed her sister's hand. Pulling her and herself to their feet, they continued their mad dash for the two Saiyan's.

Goku could feel the power of his adversary press against his own blast, she was far more powerful than him with Vegeta's stolen power, but she rather astoundingly didn't seem to be over taking Goku. It took him a second to understand. She had the power, but she had no idea how it worked. But regardless, that power was dangerous in the hands of such an unstable woman and she'd have to use it all up to fight him.

Goku strained himself to push her back a bit further, he only had to last long enough for Ruby and the others to get here. But that woman seemed to be ramping up her power outlet. The stream of gold grew in power and size, and the blue stream began to shift backwards.

" _ **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"**_

Goku felt his muscles burn under the strain of the pressure. His chest felt heavy with tension. Out of the corner of his eye, Goku saw that two of the girls had made it to Vegeta. Only two left. He had to take it further to keep her at bay.

" _ **KAIO-KEN...TIMES 3!"**_

A fresh wave of power hit the golden light and the streams realigned and the sizes balanced out, slowly and steadily the stream moved back to its original position. Ruby and Yang both threw themselves at the feet of Weiss and Blake, both of which grabbed them and helped them up.

"Kakarot! They all made it; let's get out of here...Kakarot!"

" _ **KAIO-KEN TIMES...4!"**_

The golden light faltered, the blue light turned a dazzling white and pierced through the golden ki and flew towards Cinder. She may have been able to stop it, if she had not closed her eyes and heard another man's voice. A voice accompanied by a searing pain through her head.

" **You are better than me Kakarot...you are the best."**

"Kakarot" Cinder whispered, as the white light enveloped her. _**"KAKAROOOOOOO-"**_

The white light shone...and faded. Goku, Vegeta, Ruby, Blake, Weiss, and Yang all locked arms and in the blink of an eye, they were gone. The white fang soldiers searched for their leader, for Cinder, for anyone to give them orders...but all they found was a broken, splintered katana.


	11. Prologue: Old legends

Sand.

It was sand, water and bright blue cloudless skies for as far as the eye could see. The few trees on the island swayed in the strong breeze of the mighty ocean, their coconuts held fast against the gentle force. Their thick knotted connections to their trees were resistant to both the wind and the sun, and the poor aim of the faunus throwing rocks at them from some 20 feet down, attempting to dislodge them.

It had been a slow day for food for Adam Taurus, in his three week stay on this miserable island, he had enthusiastically hunted for all the live game that he could. He knew that staying fed would be integral to his survival. Unfortunately for him, the only things that inhabited that island apart from him were crabs, and a few sea gulls, and Adam had thoroughly run out of luck in finding either of them. He was pretty much the extinctor of crab life on that secluded land and the gulls had naturally learned to go and rest somewhere else.

Having not eaten for well over 72 hours, the young warrior was becoming desperate for sustenance, and his continued poor marksmanship was starting to make the constant anger that had been pulsing through his veins ever since he had been marooned here start to flair up again. He kept flashing back to that crazy night in his dreams, attacking that old man, teleporting to this place, and then falling to…

A particularly smooth and spherical rock hit a coconut but bounced off at an odd angle and flew directly back at Adams face. It struck his nose and knocked him hard to the sandy ground. Adam sprawled on the floor and tasted blood, felt it pour out of his nose and into his gritted teeth. The faunus' leg twitched, as if he were about to stand up. But the taste of blood combined with the heat of merciless sun rays made everything feel unreal, and the urge to eat began to falter. It was hopeless, and he knew it. Not only was he out of food, but there had been little to no water on the island at all. Adams muscles relaxed completely. The faunus was content to simply wither away under the clear blue sky, only reflecting the infernal blueness that was the sea surrounding him.

The hunger combined with the gulp of sea water he had taken earlier was starting to make him delirious, and Adam's dehydrated lips cracking into a weak smile. He could see Blake sitting on a boulder just feet away from him, her raven hair catching the sunlight and dancing in the wind. In her hand was a black book, the same book she had been reading on the day they had raided the Schnee train. The sight of his beloved gave Adam strength, inflating his muscles and bracing his heart allowing his blood to flow faster than before. He slowly got to his feet, his eyes drooping and desperate to shut, yet forced open by the sight of the young woman. Slowly, almost falling to the ground with each staggering step, Adam began to approach the girl. His breathing that was once slow and deep from heat exhaustion, now quickened as he raised the blood stained rock.

The vice like grip that Adam had on the rock that struck him was starting to hurt his hand, but excitement was making his whole body shiver, and Adam was fixated on his target, the pain quite ignored. The white foam of a broken wave sloshed over Adam's bare feet as he moved slowly, but with a purpose towards the distracted unassuming girl. The dry tongue scraped as it trailed over cracked quivering lips as Blake came within touching distance. Adam raised his arm, allowing the sun to glimmer over the rocks surface, as if signalling a far off companion. Adam gave a shaky exhale, as he brought the rock down over Blake's head.

Sparks flew off the boulder and floated in the air for mere moments before being stifled by the stormy rain. Adam had struck an empty space with no trace of any girl. Adam swung his bleeding head wildly around, cursing and shouting, furious and confused at where this rain had come from. The sky had changed from clear blue to a dark and electric grey storm; forks of lightning ripped the void open with deafening, ear splitting bangs. Rain was making it difficult to see his surroundings at all as it pummelled the small land mass.

Adam had no idea what had caused a storm to drift this way, at least without him seeing it first. He was now wide awake, the sudden chill in the air was somewhat refreshing, but the noise was just so…unnaturally loud. His thoughts were interrupted by a huge fork of lightning striking down on the island with a blinding flash. The force of impact almost blew Adam off his feet again, as the natural electricity struck the stone in Adams hand. The light faded, and quite miraculously, the clouds parted and the rain stopped, and a blinding light broke over the ocean as the former sunny weather returned. The sea gleamed with sunlight once again, and the waves resumed their calm nature. The stone seemed to burn red hot in Adams palm and fell from his steaming form, it rolled away across the wet sand, its orange glow reflecting the anguished tanned face of the young faunus.

Adam's aura had sheltered him from the lightning strike, but it had not been entirely strong enough, and he shuddered as the force field dissipated, leaving him exposed to the salty, unusually fresh air. Now Adam well and truly thought he was losing his mind, might be getting cabin fever from the familiar setting that he couldn't escape. Seeing people who weren't there, hallucinating weather changes, and even seeing regular average rocks as glowing orbs. Adam closed his eyes and folded his arms, he refused to be so foolish next time, he knew there could not be a storm like that out of nowhere and normal rocks glowing was just childish.

He decided to vacate his current location on the island and go search the other side for food. Turning on his heels, Adam began to stride away from the rock. He felt a slight itch in his hand where the lightning had struck, and where he had felt something hot touch his hand, but he just rubbed his fingers against the irritated area and it stopped. He did not notice the four stars…burned into the palm of his hand…


	12. Season 2: Salt and Sanctuary

Even though Ruby was awake, she didn't open her eyes. She felt so warm and comfortable that she would have liked to drop off to sleep again. As cosy as she was however, a gust of cold air rolled over her bare face and exposed knees, forcing her to awaken full. With an understandable amount of reluctance, Ruby Rose opened her eyes. She was wrapped up in her red cloak, which was keeping her warm.

The first thing she saw, or rather the first things that she focused on were her unconscious companions. She looked to her sister first, and Ruby shuddered at the bloody stump that had replaced Yang's arm, she really must be tough to have escaped... she sighed and fought back a tear, it didn't make sense, and she was always to tough…what was dad going to say?

Weiss, looking more ruffled that Ruby had ever seen her before, her eyeliner was muddy and smudged by tears, and her hair was a mess. Her dress was dirty and covered in dust, debris and blood. She must have had to help Yang escape Adam along with herself, and it must have been her own semblance that had saved her sisters life…Ruby unconsciously smiled at Weiss' vacant face.

Blake was lying on her face so Ruby couldn't see her properly, but she was breathing so she assumed that Blake was okay, and finally the two Saiyans, Goku and Vegeta were lying parallel to each other on their backs. Vegeta seemed to be out as well but Goku was still awake. Ruby could see his fingers twitching and his chest rising and falling like a piston as the old man panted. For some reason he was smiling, though Ruby could not think why, they were after stranded in…some place.

Seeing that nobody was seriously hurt, Ruby decided to get up and have a look around where they had landed or appeared or whatever. She stared around at the white floor and the small fluffy clouds around them, and the endless blue sky that seemed to stretch on forever like an ocean. A nasty little shiver travelled down Ruby's spine as another gust of wind blew across her pink face and a scary though crept into her mind. The cloudy blue sky, the wide expanse of white floor, and the fact that they were all okay after what had just happened…was this heaven? No…they couldn't have all…

"You're not dead" sounded a fatigued but not all together unhappy voice from behind Ruby's back. It was Goku; he was sitting up now and caressing the stone floor as if it were an old friend's shoulder. Other than being rather short of breath, he looked no worse for wear. His eyes were twinkling contently and his chapped lips were still beaming. In a sudden flood of realisation, Ruby's other questions gave way to one particular query that had just occurred to her. She ran forward and knelt down in front of Goku.

"How the heck did you do that?!"

"How'd I what?" Goku replied, bemused. Ruby began to make large and flamboyant gesture with her flailing arms, in an apparent re-enactment of what had occurred on the farm. She was watched by Goku who was starting to wish he had done something a little less…inspiring.

"And the she was all like 'THIS IS THE END' and fired her yellow thing but then you were all like "AAAAAAAH" and fired your blue thing and they crashed into each other in the air and…what happened to your beard?!"

In the silly girl's wide eyes, Goku could see his own face reflected and in that image, what Ruby was talking about. Goku for whatever reason had decided to use a level of Kaio-ken that he had not used since outside living memory. He was understandably a little rusty, while muscle memory had allowed him to pull the technique off, the powered up 'Kamehameha' had rebounded slightly on himself, somewhat singeing his muzzle. Goku was now practically clean shaven on one side of his face.

"'Hmmm…I think I see what you meant King Kai'. Oh don't worry about that, I'm sure Mr. Popo will have a razor."

"Mr. Who what?"

"Oh he should still be around here somewhere. He never normally leaves the lookout."

"What lookout?"

"The others look alright, I think he should make sure that arm is ok, it looks a kinda gross."

"WHERE ARE WE?!"

Goku looked down to see a very harassed Ruby looking back up at him; her lips pouting and her bright eyes alight with desire for knowledge. He smiled and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Sorry, I forgot you guys have never been here before. This is called 'Kami's lookout', I felt it was the best place for us to get our heads together. It's a floating castle in the sky where the guardian of the earth lives…or he used to live here." He paused and swallowed at the thought, as he often did when having to think about mortality. "Kami died years ago, and his replacement hasn't spoken to me in just as long…I think he is too."

"Unfortunately."

Goku jumped, Ruby must have jumped too because there was a loud squeak and he felt something cling onto the back of his right leg. A squat man was standing before them, having appeared out of nowhere. He wore a red waist coat and a white bejewelled turban, with white baggy pants and shoes with curling soles, like a leprechaun. His skin was dark as brimstone, making his eyes stand out significantly, two circular white islands on his grave face, framed by his pointed ears. The maroon lips were attempting to smile, but they only inclined upwards a fraction.

Ruby had no idea how such a funny looking creature had gotten so close to them without being obvious from a distance. She expected her own bewildered expression to be reflected on Goku's weary face, but as she looked, she could only see a mild smile of comprehension and sad nostalgia. Both men moved forward and took each other's hands like very old friends.

"It's been too long Popo." Goku seemed to be fighting back a surge of emotion at his reunion with this little man. He smiled in earnest now, showing a square flat tooth in an otherwise empty mouth.

"It's good to see you too Goku, the years have been kind to you. I have taken care of your guests."

He gestured over his shoulder and Goku saw that Blake and the two other girls had vanished. He had to smile at this; he had never thought for a moment that had lost his touch. There was a sharp metallic noise from his left, what he saw made him jump. Ruby had drawn her scythe out and pointed the sniper rifle barrel straight at Popo's heart.

Even though he knew he wasn't the target, Goku jumped back from the red and black steel. He was more concerned by her face, despite the scratches and obvious tiredness, her face was set. Ruby's face was relaxed and confident, but her eyes were narrow and focused sharply on the squat man before her. "Where are they!?"

Ruby's statement carried no threat, strange since she was pointing a weapon at Popo, but her voice was calm and focused. Goku jumped in front of the hulking weapon, shaking his hands in panic. "It's okay, he's good-he's good!"

"What have you done with them demon!?" Ruby did not react to his words, but she cocked the sniper rifle dangerously, and he slowly backed down, looking apprehensive. Goku had never seen the young girl with such a murderous disposition, he was aware of fury, especially in women. His wife had very frequently lost her temper and given people a piece of her mind, but never like this, like she was actually willing to kill. But there was one other thing that he also knew... inclined his head to the side slightly while he watched the young warrior, and then smiled again.

"You'd have a better chance relying on your own strength than on that weed picker. A weapon should enhance ones strengths, not compensate for ones weaknesses."

 _ **BANG!**_

The gunshot sounded oddly muffled while so high in the air, Goku covered his ears all the same. He had never heard the sound of a gun while on Kami's lookout, nor had he expected nothing to be damaged after the sound faded from his ears. But there was something that he did expect to see, and that was Popo standing behind Ruby, his stubby arm raised in a chopping position. With the speed of a striking cobra, the short fingers struck the back of the girl's neck and then receded back to his side. The Crescent Rose clanked to the floor as the young girl fell to ground, unconscious.

"You know you could've just answered her question." Goku placed a hand on his forehead, exasperated, but amused. Popo turned around and spoke as he began to walk back to the castle, with a skip in his step.

"What can I say, I'm feeling nostalgic. Do help me carry Vegeta won't you?"

"What do you think?" Goku asked, tentatively.

"I've never had to deal with a human injury like this, there isn't an awful lot I can do for her except clean it up...good heavens…"

"Can't we just use the drago-?" Vegeta started to growl, but Popo cut him off.

"I'm afraid…they are no longer…with us."

Goku and Vegeta nodded grimly as the stood over a white silk bed, in which Yang was still unconscious. was splashing water from a brown jug on her stump of an arm, and then drew out some thick linen bandages. Vegeta sighed and rubbed his forehead as the wound disappeared under multiple layers of medical binding.

"How on earth did this poor girl lose her arm in the first place?" Popo asked the room, his voice shaking slightly.

The three girls all said something different at the same time.

"A terrorist called Adam" muttered Blake

"Filth" raged Weiss

"A dead man" murmured Ruby, more ominously than she originally intended, not looking at Popo. She was sitting in the corner with her arms folded, finding her sudden loss of consciousness to be both rude and humbling. She had woken up with her other team mates, except Yang who had remained asleep. Weiss had been standing over her when she had woken up, and hugged Ruby like a sister when she did come too. Blake had not gotten up, but Ruby understood. She was staring at Yang, not blinking or moving from her bed.

"What kind of water is that?" the faunus snapped at Popo's back, the question caught him off guard momentarily and he fumbled with the bandages as he answered.

"Sacred water, there is no need to worry. The wound was infected, but the water is powerful enough to purge the most powerful evil spirits. A few germs are quick work for it." Mr. Popo tied a tight knot in Yang's bandages and turned to face Blake with a frown on his face.

"You really should sleep my dear; from what I've heard you sound like you've been through a terrible ordeal." But Blake was not listening; she was looking passively over Popo's shoulder at where Yang's stump rested on the mattress. Her expression was blank, unreadable. Shaking his head, Popo turned back to Goku.

"I will go and prepare dinner." With a bow, left the guest bedroom, leaving a silent room of sleep, and questions. Goku turned to Vegeta and asked to talk with him outside, and with a grunt and a shrug, he went with him. The three girls got up and surrounded the sleeping blonde girl and sat down in a semi-circle. Ruby's expression was hard and surly; she seemed to flare up at the sight of her sister being so passive. Weiss did not know where to look, there were so many things she wanted to say to everyone…but nothing seemed appropriate.

"…So what do we do now?" She whispered, but the room was so silent that everybody heard her. There was a long silence before anyone said anything and, of all people, it was Blake who broke the silence. Her voice did not break, but her eyes seemed to be half closed, as if they would leak if were opened fully.

"We need some way of fighting back. They have too much on us and we only have our weapons to defend ourselves." She turned to Ruby "You saw that Cinder woman, how powerful she was. Maybe what Goku was teaching us will help."

"What have you been learning?" asked Weiss.

"But it didn't work" Ruby moaned. "We tried it and we couldn't even faze Adam with that technique."

"Hey! What have you been learning?!"

"Well, maybe it's because we didn't do it right, we hadn't managed to do it before…"

"Yeah, that could be true, especially since mmmmmm mmm mm…" Ruby could not finish her sentence due to the gloved hand that had closed around it. Yang Xiao Long had sat bolt upright, and her eyes were blood red and focused. When she spoke, it was in a clear voice of forced calm.

"Ruby…listen very carefully, I need you to tell me what that pair of strange old men taught you to do with Blake."

Her tone was mirthless, but angry pink tinges had appeared on her cheeks. It took a second for the rest of them to take her meaning. Immediate clarification followed.

"Oh no no, it was the fusion technique."

"rrrrRRRRGH!"

"No sis, I'm serious, he just showed us how to make our bodies one-"

"RUUUUBBYYY!" Yang was holding the scruff of Ruby's cloak now, and shaking her, the redness on her cheeks now solid scarlet. Blake stepped in and spoke in a very calm voice.

"It was nothing inappropriate, a technique that transformed us into a single person. It did not go as intended though, we were a lot weaker in that state than if we had been ourselves."

Yang released Ruby's clothes and returned to her original position on the bed, staring at the ceiling in a sort of enraged trance.

"I swear…If those creeps had done anything to my little virgin flower, I would have shoved my fist straight up their wrinkly a -"

What she said next was drowned out by the chime of a dinner bell, which sounded from somewhere else in the building. Team RWBY could hear thunderous footsteps growing nearer, and Goku sprinted past the door frame, his tongue hanging out like a dog. If Ruby hadn't known better, she could have sworn she heard Goku muttering something under his breath.

"Popo's food…no…not radishes…Popo has meat…ribs."

Ruby and Blake were far used by now to dinner with Saiyans, muted awkward affairs where it was wisest to simply eat as fast as you could without making eye contact with anyone. The three remaining people at the large white table however were not so used to it, although Popo had grown to just let them go at it while he sat quietly without eating. Yang watched beadily as Ruby stuffed her face, still suspicious as to the happenings while they were both separated. Weiss was sitting with a spoonful of mashed potato suspended half way between her plate and her mouth as she stared open mouthed at the head of the table.

Goku had half the table to himself, and it was hard to even see him through the sheer mountains of food: pork chops, deep fried rice, salmon, steak, roast potatoes, roast turkey, lamb, beef and that was only the tip of the iceberg. From what she could see, Goku was little more than a greyish blur as he viciously attacked the succulent food, she was strangely reminded of a bear catching salmon in its mouth when he caught a stray fish in his mouth and shook it until the bones flew out and hit a wall. What food could possibly move someone to be so ravenously impolite? Perhaps this Goku was just a mindless old beggar who was raised with zero table manners. But then why was Ruby doing the same? She wasn't raised by howler monkeys...although that Qrow Branwen looked a bit shady.

She glanced down at her plate which seemed to glint invitingly at her in the setting sunlight. She finished her bite, and almost fell out of her chair, having to force herself for the first time in living memory from stuffing the whole plate inside her mouth. It was the greatest thing that she had ever tasted, and she had tasted the finest dishes from the top chiefs in the entire world, moreover, she had eaten her favourite cake butlers magnum opus every Thursday since she was a little girl, and now she was thrown by mashed potatoes?!

She coughed and composed herself, afraid that she would draw undue attention from the silent sentinel that was the chief. Breathing very heavily, she took another shaky mouthful, and her weight buckled under the warm fluffy sensation that enveloped her taste buds. Weiss looked up and saw Popo, smiling good-naturedly back at her.

"There is no sense in holding yourself back to impress anyone; please, you look very hungry my dear."

Weiss blushed, looked around at everyone else pigging out, and then down at her plate. It was wrong, it was indecent, but the large amounts of delicious food being shovelled into her mouth hastily drove such thoughts from the heiress' mind, as Weiss attacked the mashed potatoes. chuckled and then turned to Goku, who had eaten so much in that short space of time, he was completely visible again.

"It's been so long since I've seen a Saiyan; I almost forgot what you looked like." He laughed "Hehe… Dende always talked about you, right up until his final days. He told me to ask you something if you ever called."

"Oh?" said Goku thickly through a mouthful of roast chicken "and what was that?"

"He wanted me to ask you if you wouldn't mind delivering his… remains back to Namek and telling his people that he has passed on. I tended to his body and prepared it for travel years ago."

Goku scratched his burned chin for a moment, thinking. Then he shook his head.

"Sorry, I'd like to, but I have no idea where Namek is anymore. I could get a good view if I was on King Kai's planet, but I'm banned. Ever since that thing happened, he hasn't responded to any of my calls."

Popo hung his head, but smiled all the same. He seemed to understand that this matter was not to be changed. Even he would not dare question the judgment of a kai. When he looked back at Goku, he laughed again. He knew that face, and he knew what that expression on Goku's face meant from years of experience.

"Yes, of course I have seconds." Goku's entire body relaxed. "Although I needed to make extra, given that I had to feed the guardian."

Goku swallowed a lot of food at once and he seemed to choke for a few second before being struck on the back but Ruby, and regaining the ability to speak. "G-guardian!?" he spluttered, "But, I-I thought Dende was…you know?!"

"Oh he has" said Popo, hanging his head slightly in respect of his memory. "But there has to be a guardian of the earth, for someone has to attend to the duties that Kami once upheld. I couldn't do it, and you were nowhere to be found. So I had to improvise somewhat…"

He smiled and inclined his head to the doorway, where a very large shape had silently moved into view. Everyone stared at it as the huge bulbous form moved towards the table, throwing its staff aside as it grabbed an entire roast duck and swallowed it whole. All eyes were on the strange pink creature and Goku actually stopped eating to gape at the giant. The table vibrated silently as the big man emptied entire plates into his rubbery mouth. Seeing as nobody seemed to be about to explain anything, Ruby opened her mouth to ask 'What in the heck is that thing supposed to be?', but before she could let out a sound, she was cut off by a colossal belch from the giant. Goku blinked a few times, and then burst out laughing.

"I don't believe it, Majin Buu!?"

The giant looked up, and its face beamed innocently. "Yup, me Buu."


	13. Season 2: Healing Hands

At that exact moment Vegeta walked into the room, looking mean as usual but slightly less so at the sight of food. He piled a plate high and looked over when Goku prompted him. He was sitting next to Buu and pointing at him vigorously. Vegeta didn't react until Goku pointed at the staff leaning against Buu's end of the table. Vegeta made a scathing noise. "So the world is being watched over by this blimp?" He glanced at Blake and smirked. "No wonder this planet is literally going to the dogs."

Blake could feel the warmth in her cheeks as he anger rose, she wanted to walk over there and slap him, but Vegeta was already gone before she got the chance. Blake looked over at Yang who she expected to see just as angry as she was herself, but Yang didn't seem to have been paying attention. She was staring at the food in front of her in a daze. Blake wanted to ask her if she was feeling alright, buts she couldn't, conversation across the table kept cutting her off. All talk was of the new arrival of the Guardian.

"Buu has renounced his title of 'Majiin'; he is now Guardian of the earth."

"Incredible, I can't believe how far you've come since we fought! But what happened to Mr. Satan?"

"Oh he died a long time ago, but he left in his will a large sum of money for Buu to live on. It was useful to have too; I've never had to compete with such an appetite on a regular basis."

"I see, poor guy…He may have been a bit shady, but when it counted, his heart was always in the right place."

"I have never seen a girl with such features, my dear, were you born with those ears?"

"Yes…umm…I'm what's called a faunus, the white fang is comprised of people like m-"

"GOD SHUT UP, EVERYBODY JUST SHUT THE HELL UP!"

A chair scraped loudly and Yang stood up, her face was red and she looked quite unbalanced. Seizing her plate with her hand she stormed out of the room. All the others watched her go except Buu, who was still eating. Ruby made stand up as well but raised his hand to stop her.

"Shouldn't I-"

"Your sister has lost something very dear to her, she needs time to come to terms with it. Let her be for a while, she will come back." Ruby hesitated for a moment, looking out at the doorway by which his sister had left, then to her fellow team members, who all gave her the same stricken look. She nodded slowly, looking apprehensive and sat down.

* * *

Yang plate wobbled this way and that as she tore down the passage way, towards her room. She marched through the open door way and threw her plate down on her bedside table. She was still breathing very hard when she sat down, but the delicious food soon calmed her down, and she began to eat in earnest again, well as earnestly as she could with that horrible noise behind her. Yang had not expected to see Vegeta in her room, but there he was, sitting on the bed that was supposed to be Blake's, stuffing his face with sausage and ham.

She couldn't help being angry, she had just lost an arm and everyone was acting like nothing had happened! It was infuriating to think that Adam was out there hurting people and she was here eating! Her furious thought were interrupted by a particularly loud burp from Vegeta.

She had not forgotten his slight against Blake, and a fresh wave of anger burned in her stomach, and her fork slipped from her non-prominent hand, clattering loudly on the stone floor. The huntress looked at it, seeing her red eyes reflected in the spotless metal. Anger had always felt righteous for her, but for some reason the feeling made her feel sick now, and her hand started to twitch involuntarily. She looked up and noticed that Vegeta had stopped eating; he was looking straight at her with mild curiosity. She scoffed and picked up her fork, expecting it to be dirty, but surprised to find that it was no worse for wear. She was just about to start eating again, when Vegeta laughed softly behind Yang's back.

"You know this place isn't for eating right!?" Yang muttered angrily through clenched teeth, not bothering to turn around. Vegeta continued to laugh.

"I see, and yet here we are."

Yang turned around to face the old man, food quite forgotten. Their eyes looked together like they were about to fight, but neither moved from their beds. Yang would actually have very much liked to deck him one, but he hadn't forgotten that he had helped her find Ruby, so he would be left with his jaw intact.

"Back off." Yang growled, very quietly. Sher had intended to intimidate Vegeta, but this just spurred him on.

"You'll face him again you know. And when you do, he will regret what he did to you while you will not regret a thing."

Yang looked incredulous, but still she looked. Vegeta was speaking of the future, of when she would finally meet Adam Taurus again, while everyone else had been reluctant to talk to her about it.

"The man who cut off your arm," he began, and Yang's noticed that Vegeta was looking rather pale. "I saw him deal with some survivors, they were running from his soldiers and they ran into an alleyway that was blocked off…" Vegeta stopped smiling; he looked tired, and upset at the memory. "I tried to help them…but…" Vegeta paused, and Yang noticed that his left arm was gripping his right very tightly as he spoke. "I…was delayed. It was for similar reasons that we met in that forest." His tone was ambiguous, and Yang was curious about this thing that had 'Delayed' him.

"So?"

"So, don't get surly and self-righteous over not being able to save something. Save your spite for what did that to you. Don't be a fool and live in another shadow."

He gestured towards her stump and Yang felt a knot of discomfort. She had not forgiven Vegeta for his slight against Blake for being a faunus, but she had gotten a little spiteful thrill from hearing someone call Adam 'What', as if he was less than human. She rubbed the side of her severed limb, and looked for a moment rather introspective.

"I want to, I really do. But…I don't think I can anymore…without both my arms-"

Vegeta threw his fork down onto his plate which clattered loudly. Yang jumped and looked round, Vegeta was on his feet and his fists were clenched. "YOU…COWARD!"

"I'm sorry?!"

"HE TOOK YOUR ARM, AND YOU'RE JUST GOING TO LET THAT STAND?!" And that vein that throbbed in Vegeta's temple was back with serious prominence. In his anger, he seemed five times taller; and Yang shrank away a little, truly frightened for the first time.

"I-"

"THAT'S JUST WHAT I GET! YOU'RE JUST ANOTHER PATHETIC WEAKLING!" he stood up with such haste that the plate slid to the ground, shattering in the process. With one last furious look at the blonde amputee, Vegeta stormed out of the room. Yang watched him go, and through all the confusion and interest as to what he meant, a small feeling of irony flitted across her mind, as the old man had exited the room in a very similar fashion to the way she had done.

She heard a door slam in the distance, and knew that Vegeta had left the castle. She also noticed that the porcelain that Vegeta had smashed was gone. She jumped as she saw Guardian Buu walking away, carrying a fully intact plate and humming pleasantly to himself. He saw Yang and smiled at the familiar face. She was dumbfounded that she had not seen him already.

"Buu hear man shouting, Buu take plate now he finished."

Yang wasn't listening; she was staring into space with a furrowed brow. She wasn't sure why Vegeta had flown off the handle like that, but memories of Adams attack burned her mind like candle wax. Talk of that moment brought her not just pain, but sadness. She knew it was silly, but she felt that something really valuable had been lost, like an old friend that she'd been through so much with...

Yang gave a little jerk, one of her hands had been twitching, she also noticed that her eyes felt hot and her vision was blurred by tears. As she wiped them away, she was glad to see that nobody was in the room to see her weak moment, or so she thought. With a small vocalisation, like a mouse being squeezed in a human hand, Buu made his presence known again. Yang looked quickly away from him, his face was tilted to one side and he was staring straight at Yang's stump, looking from it to her remaining hand.

"What?" Yang snapped, far more abrasively than she intended, she still had not mastered herself. Buu did not seem to process her tone at all, but simply continued to peer at her like a curious child.

"Why don't you take a picture, it'll last longer?" Yang murmured under her breath, not meeting Buu's squinty eye or bothering to hide her sarcasm. This seemed to stir something in that pink gelatinous head, because Buu ceased his inspection of Yang's arm and looked her in the face.

"Why you look funny?"

"Pff...Real sensitive Buu, really considerate..." But Buu had not reacted to her sarcasm at all, and Yang realised that his question was not mockery, but genuine curiosity. Despite his soft cuddly features, there was a weird sort of scholarly element to his demeanour, an earnest and innocent thirst for knowledge, like a child at the zoo. Yang rolled her eyes as she answered, "My arm...got…cut off."

"Why you do that?" Buu's brow was the one to furrow now; he looked at Yang as though she was some kind of deviant.

"I didn't do it!" Yang spat defensively, anger rising again. Buu still frowned slightly.

"Who do?"

"A man called Adam." Yang surprised at how casually her mutilators name came out. It was funny, but Vegeta's words had kind of resonated with her, and the thought of the white fang leader did not seem so terrible. Whatever space that had been fear inside her now boiled as determination to bring him down, and avenge team RWBY upon him. She only hoped that this bravery would stick around for their reunion. A grim look plastered those pink puggy features.

"Me no like mean men, they hurt B and make bad Buu."

"Rrrr-right."

"But Mr. Satan tell Buu no fight, no get angry, and Buu no do." And with his mention of that name, Buu's demeanour returned to its bubbly airiness, and he continued to smile benignly for a few moments. Yang had no idea who this ' ' was, or what he had meant to Buu. All she could decipher from all this nonsense was that Buu had taken these instructions to heart ever since the guy had kicked the bucket. Without warning he raised his gloved hand and pointed it straight at Yang's stump. "Buu fix?"

…

Yang did not speak; she only stared from the pink face to the yellow gloved hand, unable to believe what she had just heard. After a few seconds, her throat rebooted.

"What?"

"Buu bring back, Buu make time go back for you." The bubbly expression looked cold for a second, as if bitter memories were ruining something meant to be positive. "Buu do bad things; Babidi say it Buu's porpoise." Yang assumed that whoever he was talking about had said 'purpose.' "Buu do good things too, Buu fix B, Buu fix Mr. Satan, and Buu fix you." He smiled again, and proffered his hand more insistently.

Yang stared at him, hardly daring to believe it. Was it a trick? A joke? Was this guy pulling her leg? Because if he was, she was not going to forgive him for such false hope, that would just push her too far. "I want proof" She said, shuffling away from Buu's outstretched hand. "Do it to something else first, I wanna know what I'm buying into."

Buu looked at her for a moment with a tilted head, seeming to process her request rather slowly. Yang was just about to explain again when a wide smile broke of the puffy face, and Buu clapped his hands together. "Ohhhhh, you want see? Okay, Buu do."

The giant guardian raised his hand and revealed it to contain Yang's remaining Ember Celica. She made an involuntary twitch when she saw it; it had been on her wrist a moment before, how had this guy got it?! She was about to say 'Be careful', but she hadn't managed to get the first syllable out before Buu had closed his hand casually and crushed the steel forged weapon into twisted broken metal.

Yang stifled a scream but a dry sob escaped her lips, she wasn't exactly calm right now and with the loss of her only remaining weapon she was now quite beyond reason. Throwing the sheets aside Yang launched herself at Buu, determined on punching every inch of that flabby body she could reach. Her eyes were scarlet and her teeth were clenched as she clumsily swung at…thin air?

She regained her footing and stared furiously around, but Buu had vanished. It made no sense at all, how could something that fat be faster than the naked eye? There was something funny about that Buu, he couldn't be what he seemed. A shadow on the ground made her look up and there was Buu standing on the white ceiling, still holding the remnants of Yang's weapon tightly in his hand. The ridiculousness of this drove any anger that Yang had left back into her subconscious, with the little tentacle on his head hanging down along with his cape, and her eyes returned to their normal state. She watched in awe as Buu slowly turned in mid-air and glided safely back to the floor as light as a butterfly.

There was a moment where she might have considered attacking him again, but honestly she just wanted to see what the thing was going to do about her weapon if it was capable of flight. Buu held out the remains in his hand and looked at them very hard. The ember Celica was surrounded by an eerie pink light and, very slowly…the weapon was beginning to reform. The bent yellow surface was smoothing out; the curvature was correcting itself and what was split metal reformed seamlessly. After about a minute, the weapon was as good as new. Buu handed it to Yang and Yang inspected it closely. It was flawlessly repaired, no bumps, no imperfections, No Buu had completely reversed the damage.

Yang didn't know what to say, she was indignant as ever about Buu destroying her gauntlet, but he had also remade it in an instant. Buu certainly seemed impressed by what he had done; he was smiling benignly again and looked as though he was waiting for her word to continue. Yang thought for a second and considered the offer before her. Having her arm back would be…well…amazing, a miracle, a quick fix that would make her life at least ten times easier…but. Yang considered what Vegeta had said, and what he had meant by it…

"Buu do?" and Buu raised his hand and the pink aura surrounded Yang's stump. But she raised her other arm and prompted him to stop.

"No, don't!" she yelled, and Buu's hand receded, looking rather hurt. Yang quickly amended her statement. "Sorry, It's just…I've always relied on my arms, and I've won more fights that I can count with them…they hold memories…I can't just move on from them…I don't want to just abandon them. I'll beat Adam with my original body, just to make it more humiliating for him." And a ghost of Yang Xiao Longs old confident smile danced once more across her lips.

Buu tilted his head again, looking extremely confused at her reasons for not regrowing her limb, for Buu of all people did not miss his limbs when he lost them. But He gave her a little nod and turned to leave the room. Yang called out to him, with a weak smile. "Thanks Buu, I appreciate it."

"Buu do if yellow girl want it back." Buu answered with a wide smile. And still smiling, Buu exited the bedroom. As he did, he passed a man standing just beyond, leaning against the wall, smiling to himself. Buu looked at him and asked him if he was okay. The man's smile broadened and he nodded silently. And Vegeta and Buu walked in opposite directions along the passage.

* * *

"Sir, sir please, you have to wake up!" Adam heard the voice only partially, there was a loud and consistent banging in his ears, like his heard was beating inside his skull. He had never been so thirsty in his miserable life. He felt cold water splash against his sweaty face and into his open mouth, wetting his tongue and igniting his senses. His eyes fluttered open and saw that whoever was talking to him, they had not removed his mask. From the softness of her hand to the voices inflections, he could discern that it was woman and it did sound familiar, but why was she-

"Sir, sir, Mr. Taurus! Please wake up, we need your help!"

"Ilia?" and Adam realised that he was lying in an air ship, and that he was looking at the white fang member upside down, as he was lying down. While Ilia had left his own mask on out of respect, hers had been removed, to show her large frightened eyes. "Put your mask on, who do you think you are?"

"Yes sir, sorry sir!" Ilia said hastily as she pulled her boss upright and replaced her mask. "I'm so glad we found you, But you must understand we have a situation!"

Adam rubbed the back of his head and tried to get a grip on this situation that Ilia was blathering about. As his vision cleared, he saw that he and Ilia were not alone, across from him, lying on an opposite set of seats was Cinder, seemingly unconscious. Adam jumped at the sight of her; she could not have looked more different than their last encounter.

Her long black hair now cut to a shorter length, seemingly to avoid further damage. What was left hung around her face covered one half of her face, concealing a face that Adam wasn't sure he wanted to see. Her clothes were singed and burned away, the cloth of her right sleave was gone completely showing a darkened and scarred arm.

"What…What happened to her?" Adam whispered to Ilia, now conscious of the sleeping woman in their presence. Ilia shook her head.

"We don't know… we found her at sea. She was barely alive when the order rescued her. Whatever did that to her must have been monstrous. What was it? "

Adam averted his gaze; he did not want to talk about what had happened in that barn, he did not quite understand it himself. Ilia waited for Adam to answer but continued when he didn't. "Well, that's not the only problem!"

"What could possibly be worse than…that?" Ilia looked gravely at her boss.

"We couldn't get near her until we diverted some of that power she was emanating, it kept fluctuating…we didn't understand how someone's aura could be so powerful." Ilia shivered. " So we diverted some of it." Ilia gestured towards a large silver tank, as large as the average fridge sitting in the air ship with them. "An invention of Watts," she explained "Originally designed to help subdue the maidens."

Adam nodded, and saw that a meter on the side of the tank with the phrase 'energy level capacity' had a meter leading from green to red, and the little red arrow was firmly in the red.

"I still don't see what I'm supposed to do about this," said Adam as he sat back in his chair. "All she did was steal someone else's power, can't she just get rid of it?"

"That's what we need to find out, we have to go and find the one that she stole that power from and ask them to take it back, if not the strain on her body will prove fatal. I don't think she can survive in this state for much longer…"

Adam believed that at least from the look of the veins shining Gold on Cinders exposed forearm, and this would give him ample opportunity to hunt down Blake, and kill everyone she escaped with, including the old guys. "Alright, so how do we do this?"

"Lady Salem has told us that she wants you present at a séance, she wants to evoke an old legend that might allow us to discover the location of the person who made Cinder like this, and to punish the one who harmed her further." As Ilia finished explaining, she proffered a bottle of water to Adam. "Are you still thirsty sir?"

Adam drained the bottle in a few seconds and smirked at his luck, as he remembered something that turned his stomach.

"Ilia, I don't have my weapon, it got destroyed in the attack."

Ilia was visibly shocked by this, but masked it expertly in a matter of seconds. "We found a bit of the blade at the wreckage of the barn. If you still have the other half, I'm sure Watts could repair it."

The way things were going, Blake would suffer despair at the edge of his blade after all, and Adam Taurus smiled a wide predatory grin, as the air ship carried him away to the rebirth of a legend.

* * *

 **Hi guys Johnathan here, thanks so much for reading. You may have noticed that I've been trying to upload one chapter every week for this story, around Tuesday. I just wanted to warn everybody that I may have to stop writing for a few weeks, not because the story is done or because I've lost interest, i just have more pressing matters to deal with right now. I will update again as soon as I am able. Thank you for all the support, I hope a lot of your questions were answered by this chapter and don't worry, there will be more to come.**

 **With enthusiastic waving of the arms,**

 _ **Johnathan x**_


	14. Season 2: With one hand tied

"WHAT!?"

The combined exclamation of the two men was loud enough to get the attention of the entirety of team RWBY, even though they were on different parts of the lookout. Weiss happened to be the closest and; looked up from her steaming cup of coffee, over to where was being harassed by the two Saiyan's. Sighing at her peace being disturbed, Weiss got up and began to approach the excitable old men, listening to their almost alarming eagerness that came from complete silence.

"Yes; Buu repaired it, didn't you guardian?"

Buu let out on of his high pitched noises to serve as 'yes', "Mm, Buu fix."

Weiss wasn't sure what this chamber was, but the effect that its repair had on these two men was astounding, they looked both terrified and as if all their Christmas' had come at once. Vegeta was gripping Popo by the collar with eyes like dinner plates, and Goku or Kakarot or whatever, was dancing on the spot like he was desperate for the bathroom.

"But-But how, I thought it was destroyed?!"

"Well the entrance was, but the dimension remained intact." Popo politely removed his shirt from the Saiyan's grip, which was no small feat since Vegeta's fist was shaking with the force of his excitement. "All it needed was a door. But its back now, do you wish to use it?"

"Yes we do..." Vegeta whispered, a small smile spreading his thin lips, his fists still clenched. Goku was now full on jumping for joy, whooping and cheering late an excitable child. The sight of an elderly man behaving like this was ridiculous enough to get a smile out of Weiss as well.

"What are you talking about, what is this chamber?"

…

Weiss looked significantly at Goku, who had not returned from his own giggling machinations, he was staring into space with a big stupid grin on his face, as though making plans for extremely amusing jokes.

"Are you daydreaming!?" Weiss snapped, losing patience. And with a little jerk, Goku came to his senses.

"Oh right, sorry this has probably gone right over your heads."

Goku laughed and rubbed the back of his head, but this was such a common gesture of his air headedness that it did little to calm Weiss. Seeing that he wasn't going to explain, Vegeta pushed Goku out of the way and addressed Weiss directly, as though continuing a conversation they had already been having.

"It's called the hyperbolic time chamber; it's a room that condenses a whole year into a single day; it's a parallel dimension that's perfect for training. It's come in handy in the past; we've used it to great effect to train our bodies in very short spaces of time. Kakarot's son became the strongest fighter in the world for a time at the mere age of eleven by using this room. "

"Excuse me" Weiss shot at Vegeta, her eyebrows raised at this, but Vegeta's expression of satisfaction made the young heiress feel uncomfortable; he never looked like that for anything good. Her cyan eyes travelled from one earnest expression to the other and she considered that they might actually be telling the truth. The prospect of a years' worth of training in a day began to grow on her, and Weiss Schnee found that she was staring into space in a similar fashion to the old man, and corrected herself quickly as Goku spoke again.

"There are catches though. "He said, now paying attention fully to the young heiress." The room's conditions are very severe, every second you spend in there will test your will to live and grow stronger. The air is almost painful to breathe and the gravity…well this'll all become apparent when you're inside. It's not a training regimen for the faint of heart." Vegeta frowned slightly at this, but his expression was blank and unreadable almost a spit second after, and Weiss was still on the topic of the Hyperbolic time chamber and did not pursue this thought.

By now, the rest of the girls had wandered over, curious at what Weiss was shouting about. They looked at her and asked what was going on, but she was still digesting the idea of a parallel dimension and did not answer. Once they were filled in by the old men, Blake and Ruby looked at each other and smiled excitedly.

"We can learn to fuse properly if we have all that time to practice." Ruby grabbed hold of Blake's arm as she exclaimed this, her face very close to Blake's.

"Y-Yeah" and Ruby had her hands politely but firmly removed by the Faunus.

"I could use a room like that to practice my new technique, as well as some more complex glyphs. Yang could also get used to her…um" Weiss faltered in her enthusiasm as she knew how touchy Yang was about her new challenges with mutilation. She did not expect to hear the poor girl laugh however, but she defiantly was.

"Its fine, you're right too, I need to get used to being…disarmed." Yang sounded embarrassingly proud of her own joke, and allowed the silent void of nobody laughing to persist for a few agonising moments before lamely continuing. "…A year of fighting should be long enough to get used to it.

Goku clapped his hands together, in a way that effectively settled the matter; all faces were set as Goku began to explain the terms of entry. Ruby caught Blake's eye and they both nodded mutely. They knew what they were getting into would be tough, they might change forever once this was done, but they would gain the power to unite and finish off Adam for good.

"…Alright then, we can only go in two at a time, after that it's a whole day before we can switch, once those doors close, there's no coming out."

At these words, Buu's innocent smiley expression became puffy and irritable, as though remembering something unpleasant. He folded his arms and shook his head. Everybody was too excited to notice.

"So, who's going with who?"

"I will enter first, and I'm taking the blonde one with me". Vegeta exchanged looks with the huntress. "She's by far the one here who needs the most training, an arm down and a recovery period has made her a target. The short one and cat girl will go in together; they should perfect their fusion in a year…Probably. You can go in with the damsel Kakarot."

Blake felt someone tap her on the shoulder as she and her team mates watched Weiss shout at Vegeta, outraged at being referred to as a 'damsel.' Looking around, she saw that it was Goku, with an uncharacteristically serious look about him.

"We need to talk."

"Can't it wait?" murmured Blake, only half listening as she stared mesmerised at Vegeta, who shouted to Weiss that she looked more like a child's doll than a warrior. Goku looked at his feet for a moment and then spoke again, in a lighter tone than before.

"If you say so, but I wanna talk before you enter the chamber."

"Sure whatever- Weiss come on, he was just kidding."

"Why are you defending him, his attitude is abrasive!?"

"It's just his stupid way of getting under your skin, you get used to it." Blake shot a nasty look at Vegeta who was looking exceptionally smug. "Just drop it."

Weiss relented, but still looked sulky and unhappy. She glowered at Vegeta from a distance and he did not look at her again. She got the impression that he took pleasure from the fact that he had gotten a rise out of her, and this just made Weiss' mood worsen.

proffered his arm towards the inside of the castle, and then strode inside, his hands behind his back. They all looked inside for a moment, and then followed wordlessly. In no time at all, they arrived at a single door on a long stretch of otherwise undecorated wall. was smiling next to it, his hand on the door knob. "Now say your goodbyes, only a day will pass for those of us on the outside, but a whole year shall pass for those within."

Yang turned to Ruby, she was so tall now that she barely had to stoop, and hugged her around the middle "I guess I'll see you when I see you sis."

Ruby hugged her back, sniffing loudly, Yang felt to large bumps as Weiss and Blake joined in.

"Please don't get hurt worse." said Weiss who felt her face burn when Yang smirked at her.

"Hey, I'm still Yang, don't you worry about me."

"It's time!" barked Vegeta.

With a final squeeze, Yang released her sister and team RWBY parted again. pulled the door open and darkness was all that Yang could make out, but Vegeta was striding forward passed her already, and Yang followed.

"Try not to break Kakarot, your majesty!"

Vegeta smirked to himself as he walked on, not turning as Yang did. Yang Xiao Long had one final glimpse of her team mate's screaming face before the door slammed shut behind her.

"I'm not a princess, I'm just extremely rich!" The heiress shrieked out, and actually kicked the door of the hyperbolic time chamber, which she immediately regretted, it was very hard. Ruby turned to Goku as Blake dashed forward to help Weiss to remove her shoe and tend to her swollen toes.

"So what do we do now?"

"Wait for a day and with luck, they'll come out stronger than ever." He gazed happily at the closed door. "Vegeta will make a fighter out of your sister." He nodded contently and turned to the two three girls, one standing and looking politely interested, to the two girls kneeling by the door, one whispering comforts to the other who was fighting tears of pain. "Right you three, time in, out front now; I got stuff to show ya!"

Mr. Popo smiled embarrassedly as Blake helped Weiss limp out of the corridor. "I'm sorry; the last one broke so easily, so I asked the Guardian to make this one extra hard."

* * *

"What is this, where does it end?"

Yang had passed through a short dark passage, leading a room much like the others at the lookout, like a common room of sorts, with doors leading off to other chambers. She ascertained that these rooms would hold what they needed to survive for a year. It was only when she stepped through an archway and walked out onto the foyer of the building that she took a sharp step back and grasped her own mouth with her hand.

The outsides of the house…were not there, just a blank void of endless white, a boundless plain of nothing. The lukewarm air had become hot and dense, it seemed to enter and leave her lungs reluctantly. This didn't seem to be bothering Vegeta, who had walked forward eagerly to stand on the flat white…something that was apparently a floor. He looked back at her and Yang was happy to see that he had to gasp a little to breathe properly.

"It doesn't, this dimension is flat and endless. You could hike for years and years and never get anywhere, the perfect training room." Yang pushed her fringe aside and rubbed the sweat off her forehead. There was no visible sun, but all the same yang felt it mercilessly beat down upon her, as though she was inside a colossal tanning booth. Her lungs were buckling and burning with that sauna like air and it couldn't be her imagination that she felt heavier all of a sudden, in a way that she knew had nothing to do with heat exhaustion. "Oh, that's right. The gravity here is ten times that of earth."

"It's so hot…I can't breathe…" said Yang as she followed Vegeta down the short flight of stairs and out onto the time chamber floor. She could swear that she had run up and down them twice when she reached the bottom. The floor felt solid enough, kind of like marble, but a bit off. But it seemed sturdy enough, a strong flat something on which to train.

"You suffer for a time, but your body will adjust to the harsh conditions. Come on, we train now". Vegeta tensed his body and got into a combat stance, "Hit me".

Yang smiled sarcastically "Are you sure, I'd hate to hurt an old man." But she did as she was told, and made to activate her Ember Celica. But the instant it clunked into like, Vegeta dropped his guard.

"Take that thing off for starters, I'm not training you with weapons, your fists and feet, those are your weapons in my boot camp."

On some level Yang had expected this, and did what she was told without argument, but blankly stared at her wrist when she made to remove it. The occasion of her realising that she only had one hand always came at the most inopportune times.

"Could you give me a hand getting this off?" Yang asked with a pained smile. Vegeta's expression did not soften and he folded his arms.

"No, first lesson: get that off your arm. Come and find me when you get rid of it."

Before Yang could say anything, Vegeta had risen off the floor and flown away, leaving the huntress opened mouthed, not just by the fact that the old man could fly, but also by his refusal to help a one armed woman take a bracelet off. Frowning for the first time, Yang placed the gauntlet to her lips and bit as hard as she could, and attempted to pull it free of her arm.

* * *

"Alright" croaked Goku, placing his hands behind his back, "Perform the technique". They had been at this all evening and for the hundredth time, Goku declared the order making his sour throat even worse.

Ruby tensed as she got into position, mirroring Blake's posture and stance about three metres across from her. Both expressions were tight and focused. Simultaneously, both girls raised their arms to point in opposite directions, their posture and expressions not wavering slightly.

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuu"

Ruby and Blake proclaimed as they took three large steps towards each other, moving their hand up over their heads and bringing them to rest, pointing towards one another. Weiss watched on from beside Goku, and in her opinion, this all looked completely ridiculous.

"-SION!"

Both raised their inside knees and moved their arms back to their original position. Their forms tensed and became very still.

'Come on...' Goku begged in his mind. This try was different, before one of their voices would have wavered by now or one of their feet would slip, but no imperfections existed in their form and their powers were exactly equal, this time it was all perfect. Goku thought his little chat with Blake and Ruby had assisted with this little pitfall.

He had explained that Ruby's power greatly exceeded Blake's and that in order to fuse, their powers needed to be equal. They both seemed confused at the time because Blake was older than Ruby and in their minds therefore more powerful. Goku had found it difficult to train Ruby to supress her power, as she was very unaware of most of it. In the end he had resorted to ask Blake to supress her power as much as possible, just so they could get a feel for the technique. He told her not to worry; as most extraordinary powers reveal themselves at the right moment…he of all people knew that.

"HAAAAAAAA!"

Ruby and Blake both sharply tilted their torsos towards each other and brought both their hands, now with index fingers outstretched to connect at both small points. Both pairs of index finger connected and the aura was free to flow through them.

A blinding light from an indiscernible source forced Weiss and Goku to cover their eyes; the forms of the two huntresses were becoming warped, overstepping the two connections, their two physical presences' overlapping, overstretching, becoming one...

A billowing mist combined with the light to make visibility impossible for a time on the lookout, all the while Goku and Weiss stared over at where the two huntresses had connected, where a shadowy figure now stood. It was formless for the most part and Weiss had difficulty discerning body parts in the smoke, at least until she saw two red slits snap open that were defiantly eyes. Eyes that seemed to cut the mist like icing, and Weiss could feel the gaze as though it was poking her, it felt…untoward, indecent.

The light slowly began to fade and the wind blew at the mist, causing it to subside. It revealed that the two girls had vanished. In their place a new person stood, with sanguine eyes and very pale skin, flashing in stark contrast to the blacks and reds of her dress, and her scarlet smiling lips. It put Weiss immediately in thought of a vampire. Just above her horizontal fringe, she wore a frilly black and red bow, similar to the one Blake usually wore. Her clothes were very similar to miss rose's, the corset, boots and ruffled skirt had remained, however far more vibrant and complex in their decorations and patterns of black and red. In this woman's hand, she held not a scythe, not a thingy, but a purple halberd, that was at least two feet taller than her. It towered above her head and looked far too heavy for her to be holding so casually with one hand.

Goku whooped and clapped, he was clearly ecstatic at the technique not having gone wrong. He grabbed Weiss' hand and jumped up and down in excitement. Weiss didn't pull away; she was still transfixed in that woman's gaze. The eyes that had looked so demonic in the mist, looked more inviting now, long lashed and relaxed. They were supremely confident eyes, and again Weiss got that chill of sleaze, depravity.

"I knew you could do it, I just knew it!"

Seeing that the girl was now looking at him with those shadowed eyes, he regained his composure.

"Excellent work girls…um…girl, exceeded my expectations…again. Weiss, can't you feel that!?"

He took a single step forward towards the new girl and smiled curiously at her.

"And what would your name be"? Goku asked politely, but with excitement edging his voice.

The girl licked her lips and spoke in a salutary, seductive voice.

"My name...is" she paused, making some final adjustments to her title.

"Rory...Rory Bellarose, _pleasure_ to meet you". And she laughed under her breath, a laugh that sent a chill down Weiss' spine.


	15. Season 2: Behind enemy lines

The atmosphere in the chamber was deadly silent; none of the seated members were looking anywhere but at the head of the large black table. All sat in the same fashion, straight backed and alert with their hands on their laps, all except for the giggling man with the long plat down his hunched back, who was staring almost lustfully at his mistress. And at the head of this dark place was a woman with shadowy eyes, white hair to match her complexion, and very long fingers that drummed the table in a sort of marchers beat.

Salem had never expected the leader of the white fang to be late, he was usually so composed and in charge of himself. She was considering that maybe Cinder had not made a good enough impression on him, when the tall black door leading into the chamber burst open, and a girl with a long curled pony tail entered with a curt bow at the waste. She wore a mask that hid her eyes from view, but Salem could feel her fear as she stood before them all. All eyes had shifted to the girl in the doorway, all saved for the platted man who still gazed intently at Salem.

"Where is he?" Salem asked politely, fixing Ilia with a bored expression. The effect was anything but, she snapped to a crisp salute and answered so quickly, she almost cut Salem off, which made the hunched man stop giggling, and growl at the new arrival, having noticed her for the first time.

"My lady, h-he's coming." Ilia's voice shook slightly, she did not like how Salem was looking at her, she did not like being the centre of attention like this; it was making the mask on her face feel all itchy and uncomfortable. Besides, Adam usually did the talking. At this Salem sat back, satisfied at this update but still looking irritable. She casually raised a hand, and all eyes fell of her again.  
"That will do, Tyrian."

The growling man called Tyrian fell silent immediately, looking to his mistress with his mad smile reinstated with great prejudice. The man looked as though he reached the pinnacle of mortal ecstasy by following and completing orders. Ilia relaxed somewhat with that lapdog off her, but Salem's gaze never left Ilia's mask. She was extremely relieved to hear the door creak behind her, and drawing the attention of the room to the entrance again, Adam Taurus walked in. He looked far better groomed than he had on the air ship, and he had changed into some clean, sand-free clothes for the occasion. Salem's scrutiny left the young white fang member and drifted over Adams stiff face, she smiled widely at him.

"Adam, we thought we had lost you. I heard you went on a little vacation." There was a low murmur of laughter, practically silent compared to the insane cackle that rang out from behind Tyrian's hands, which were cupped over his mouth. Hazel nodded in obligatory fashion, and Watts appeared to have attempted a greeting smile, but had devolved into a condescending smirk as usual. The leader of the white fang jerked his head irritably and took his seat at the table.

"My apologies" Adam spoke into the desktop, not looking at the table head. "I was…delayed." Salem leant back again, her hands resting on the arms of her chair; finally content that they were all but one of her council was gathered there. She spied the empty seat where Leonardo Lionhart should have sat, but who had kept finding reasons not to show up. Salem thought privately that she would have to be disciplined...perhaps by Tyrian.

Adam felt a tapping on his shoulder and turning in his chair, saw the scientist Watts trying to get his attention, his moustache quivering slightly. He spoke in a pompous nasally voice like that of a fussy old war general.

"It has come to my attention that your weapon has sustained severe damage, but that you still possess the necessary components?" Adam nodded silently without looking at him; Watts raised his bushy eyebrows and continued in a business-like fashion. "If a simple break in the blade is the full extent of the damage, I dare say a short treatment back at my workshop should have it spick and spam in a day or so, the material is not so complex that a small retirement within a-"

"Can you fix it!?"

There was a small period of silence as everyone looked at Ilia, standing a little ways behind Adams chair, breathing hard. He was silently grateful that she had been the one to stop Watts, as his own teeth were quite on edge at being in this humans' debt already. Watts looked over at the young faunus and his small eyes narrowed even more in dislike, but he recovered quickly, and smirked at the question.

"Of _course_ I can _fix it_." He said with exasperation, emphasising the words as if talking to a child and continuing to smirk as he turned back to Adam, " _We_ already have one faunus in here that won't sit still, can you please reign in your sidekick." Watts jerked his head over his shoulder towards Tyrian who was now leaning across the table to be closer to his mistress. Adam would have liked nothing more than to grab that stupid moustache and drop kick that man out of the window, but instead held up his hand as he saw Ilia place her hand on her weapon.

"Ilia stand down!"

…

There was a moment's pause where nobody spoke; they all just looked at Ilia and Watts, the wide toothy grin meeting the grimace. Wordlessly, Ilia released her weapon and brought forward a raged bundle, she placed in carefully in front of watts and drew back very quickly as he began to examine it. In her opinion, a humans hand on such a weapon was a crime, and Adam felt a similar pang of frustration at the powerlessness of his position when Watts drew out the broken red blade of Adams sword and examined it.

"The body isn't cracked; a clean break…the hilt appears to be in working order…" Watts drew out a notebook from his pocket and began to take the blades measurements, from the length of the hilt to the length of the sword if it was not broken. Salem raised her hand again, and Watts began to take notes in silence, as the meeting began.

"Beacon has fallen to the grimm and we have much to be thankful for. The full power of the fall maiden is now in our possession. However the relic is yet to be recovered, Ozpin has hidden it well. But no matter, it will be found in time. " Salem proffered her hand towards the empty seat next to her to show that Cinder was not there. "But that is not all; it has come to my attention that Cinder absorbed something more than simply the power of a maiden. From a source that she is currently unable to coherently reveal to us, Cinder acquired a vast supply of power, aura so powerful it would have destroyed her, had it not been for Watts' services, we may have lost her."

Watts looked up from his work for a moment to look smug before diving into his notes again, and Salem continued. "We are to first find a way to get a description of the original owner of this power from Cinder, and make attempts to apprehend him or her. Such power would be invaluable to me, but as Cinder has no means of controlling it all. It would be better if we convinced the original source to join our collective before giving it back."

Salem looked to each seated member of her council in turn, and moving from one to the next when they gave a nod indicating their approval. Mercury and emerald were last in the circle, and Emerald took a moment to look at the space where Cinder should have been before nodding. There was a loud cough and Hazel stood up, looking grace as she usually did. Salem did not look at him, but prompted him to speak with another casual wave of her long fingers.

"The takeover at Beacon was not entirely successful; there are still Huntsmen and Huntresses alive and fighting to reclaim the kingdom. The Nikos girl may be gone, but her remaining team members have allied with several teachers from beacon academy, as well as warriors visiting for the Vytal festival. There are rumours that the Branwen twins were also there... _both_ of them."

Salem sat forward and placed the tips of her fingers together, her eyes locked on Hazels. "They will not last long. They are outnumbered and running out of supplies as well as strength. One by one they will fall, and then our path to the relic of Beacon is clear."

"But they are not faltering" Hazel continued, his demeanour growing graver still "They've retained vast number of fighters; a large portion of the city has been reclaimed in the absence of the white fang." He looked mournfully at Adam, who returned his gaze with a grimace, he had not expected his pulling the white fang out of beacon to be such a big deal, and he had not expected the huntsmen and huntresses to survive for this long. This was bad and he needed to find a way to shift the blame off of himself or his cause…as well as him, was doomed.

"That wasn't my fault" Adam blurted out, not daring to look at Salem. "I performed my role in the plan perfectly…if Cinder hadn't been so caught up in slaughtering children, we might have-"

Adam stopped talking at the sound of a set of chair legs scraping across the black floor as someone stood up. Looking over the visor of his mask, Adam saw it was that Emerald girl. She was standing with her fists clenched and her teeth bared, glaring at Adam as though trying to kill him with her gaze.

"Don't you dare blame her for your incompetence; it wasn't her fault that you decided to place the completion of the mission below your obsession with the Belladonna girl-"

"DON'T…say that name in my presents." It was Adams turn to stand up now, and he noticed in spite of himself that he had reached for his sword hilt before remembering that Watts had taken it. Instead, he had rather clumsily smacked Ilia in the face with his hand, knocking her mask askew. This served to break the tension, as Adam embarrassedly sat down to help Ilia correct her mask.

"Sorry about that, I…forgot myself." But when Adam looked beneath the visor so as to apologise to her face, he saw that she was blushing. This vanished immediately when she noticed.

"That's okay…Its inspiring to see your passion sir. I accidentally changed colour because of it." Ilia added the last part rather awkwardly, trying to explain away her red face at being touched by her boss. Adam did not pick up on this however; as he was very aware that Salem was looking bad temperedly from him to Ilia.

"That's enough, Emerald." And as if Salem had blown on a dog whistle, Emeralds face relaxed and she politely sat back down. "I won't deny that it has been harder than I would have liked to take Beacon with the absence of white fang forces. But the grimm should finish the job…they do not require rest like our enemies." Her dark eyes swept over to Adam, and all the levity in her voice vanished like a light going out as she went on. "You would do well to not blame Cinder; she is now my greatest asset…far less expendable than your adorable litter of terrorists." Salem gave a short dark laugh that wasn't reciprocated around the table.

Adam felt angrier than ever at this slight against the white fang, but he decided that one outburst was dangerous enough without incurring any more impatience from Salem. Instead he looked blankly into the distance and only replied with a small apology. "Sorry Ma'am."

"In any case, Adam's stake in this little incident hasn't been totally useless. His white fang were useful in extracting Cinder from the wreckage of that barn, and now we can still sue her gift to find them."

Everybody looked up, even Tyrian stopped smiling, everybody looked at Adam, who was just as confused as they were, he hadn't done anything to that old guy he had just attacked him with his sword.

"Confused?" Salem asked sardonically. "Don't worry, I will explain. You see, I gifted Cinder the power to drain the aura from anyone she wishes. And also leave a little gift it is place."

"Gift?" said Adam, his confusion now more potent rather than lesser at this cryptic nonsense. Salem's expression suddenly became loose and especially cruel, and a thin lipped smile curled the frozen face.

"A parasite transmitted by the hand to the host… It was intended as insurance in case Cinder attempted to drain the spring maiden before she was properly subdued, or indeed if any huntsmen or huntresses interfered. It would work its way into the body and remain dormant, absorbing the aura in said host. They attach themselves to the heart and drain the host of all power, before being ripe for removal…and consumption."

Salem leaned forward, her hands on the arms of her chair, staring into Adams visor whose mouth was slightly open. He was quite unaware of this particular type of grimm, clearly it was a recent addition to Salem's arsenal. And she had the ability to give that power to others, which would be a great asset to their cause. He quickly closed his mouth and coughed quickly before he spoke again.

"How will this help us find the gir-the old man?" Adam corrected himself just in time, and thankfully nobody seemed to have noticed.

Salem let out a short low giggle. "Oh that's right I hadn't told you yet. Well you see, I gave Cinder that power, I can feel its presence, I know exactly where every one of those little parasites are in this world. I feel their presence, their lust for power and hunger for life-force…and…"

Salem closed her eyes and raised her hand, as though to touch something in front of her. Everybody flinched away a little, except Tyrian who was watching so intensely, you'd think one of his yes would fall out of its widely stretched sockets. Salem took a few very deep breaths before continuing. "I can feel it…its far, very far away…high up in the sky at some faraway place…it is restless. It has begun its consumption of the old fool who crossed Cinders path…but it can sense another power, dormant in the others. The fool carrying it is unaware, and my child desires it greatly…"

Salem's head drooped a little, before rising again as she took a great inhale and that cruel smile returned to the pail lips. "You can find them and take what remains of that foolish old man in whose bosom my child grows."

There was further silence; nobody in the room seemed to have taken a breath since Salem had started talking. Adam thought this sounded absurd, how could they all be in the sky? There was no way those farmers could afford an aircraft. Watt's expression seemed to show the same thing, his eyebrows were now raised so high that they were in danger of disappearing behind his dark fringe. "Excuse me my lady, but how are we supposed to find the poor soul?"

"Seer will guide you to them…it is an extension of my will." Salem hissed, as though this had been the obvious solution, and that an intellectual man like watts should have guessed sooner, for which he slouched slightly, looking affronted. Salem however addressed Hazal. "You will continue your overseeing of the siege of Beacon, and I want result in days not weeks. Is that clear? "

"Yes…your majesty."

Salem nodded and turned to Ilia. She flinched at being addressed personally. "Ilia was it? I'd like you to go with Hazel and make sure that our exploits in Beacon…as well as the procuring of the relic go to plan."

Ilia gave Adam a fearful look, as though she was hoping for him to protest, but his face was stony and he nodded slowly to her deflation. Ilia hung her head slightly and crossed the room to stand beside Hazel. He nodded appreciatively.

"Emerald, Mercury…you two are to remain here, and assist the professor with his treatment of Cinder." All three nodded obediently, although some more enthusiastically than others. It was clear to all that Mercury would much rather see some action than be stuck playing scientist, and Watts looked as though having two kids hanging around whilst he was trying to work was utterly petulant. Emerald on the other hand had stars in her eyes at the prospect of staying to assist with Cinders care and repair. Salem looked satisfied and, with a wave of her hand, opened the large black doors at the front of the hall. Something horrible silently glided in.

It had the appearance of a font, coloured like a creature of grimm. Its most notable feature was the large crystal ball it held within its body, which reflected its own back. This was explained by the second of these Seers following the first one. They passed the council members, moving around the table from opposite sides. Ilia had top lead against the table as it passed, and Adam moved a little closer as well. He was by no means a man that scared easily, but these things were something else, there was no distinctive feature that he could relate to a human being, such as eyes or a mouth. This made them thoroughly unsettling.

Adam was further unnerved by the fact that one of the hovering Seers halted beside him, and the other stopped before Salem. Adam obeyed her prompt for him to look into the crystal ball and looked. He saw Salem's pale face staring back at him, as though she were right in front of him. "Hmhm…testing." Salem laughed at her own joke and Adam heard the sickly sound from two different sources, as though there were two Salem's talking at once. Nobody laughed except Tyrian.

"And you…" Salem addressed Tyrian and his smile vanished. "I would like you to accompany Mr. Taurus, and make sure that he keeps to my orders."

Tyrian grinned maliciously, but Adam stood up, looking furious. "Ma'am, I really must protest, I can handle this myself! I don't need-"

"Really? I was under the impression that you were defeated without even being attacked." Salem said sarcastically raising her eyebrows at the angry faunus, while the happy one beside her was beside himself with laughter. "Such inadequacies must be corrected."

Adam bared his teeth, but remained silent as he sat down. Tyrian was now looking at him with an almost hungry gaze. The idea of working with that screw loose insect man was worse by far than any reprimand he could have received from Salem. How did he get into such a ridiculous situation? Ilia was looking at Tyrian with utter revolution. Salem seemed to have noticed this and for the first time betrayed a little impatience.

"Your liking for each other is more irrelevant than the dust that sits beneath this table…you all have your jobs, and I will expect frequent reports as well as results. I will not tolerate any more deviations from the plan, particularly from you, Adam!"

The council respectfully lowered their heads in agreement, at least that's how Salem took it, in reality however, most of them were just so scared shitless by the witches anger that they were silently praying for her temper to lessen. Even Tyrian scented the danger and sat up straight for his mistress.

"Now…get out of my sight…all of you!" said Salem, less angry now, sounding rather lazy again. "I expect full reports of your success next week."

There was a minor commotion of noise as the council meeting was adjourned, and the council began to file out of the dark hall and off to their various duties. Adam had to hang back before leaving as Salem was still talking to Tyrian. Ilia looked in his direction without talking and their eyes did not meet. One of the seers' drifted between them and Ilia had gone before she had another opportunity to look at Adam. It stopped next to him and Adam shuffled slightly away from it. He did not like the look of those barbed tendrils, and thought he knew what they were for. Adam surmised what the phrase 'Extension of my will' probably meant.

"I will do well, my Queen…I will make you happy." Tyrian spoke under his breath without pausing, and repeated these words silently as Salem affectionately stroked his head; much to Adams annoyance, in the fashion one would pet a dog.

"Do not let him out of your sight, keep him in line and carry out your orders." She looked smugly over at Adam, who also saw the irony in being second to this lapdog of a faunus.

"Yes madam, oh yes I will!" And Tyrian's maniacal laughter echoed off the walls of that deep dark place where darkness gathered every other Wednesday.

* * *

Goku cracked his knuckles and stretched the muscles in his legs, smiling happily. He could hardly remember why he had given this up. It was amazing what a little exercise could do for an old man like Goku. Scarcely a week ago, a simple Ki blast wiped him out completely and now here he was going toe to toe with two huntresses with barely any strain at all. Ruby and Blake had learned quickly in their days training session and had pretty much mastered all that they could handle at their levels. Goku swelled with pride at their day of training. The experience had completely wiped them all out.

Ruby had found flight rather difficult, as she could not manage her power very well, but she got there in the end after practicing. The faunus girl was already so calm in demeanour that it was a second nature that she did not know she had, to fly. Goku had to teach them how to concentrate their power to certain parts of their bodies, in this case the feet, from scratch. Tentative hovering was soon followed by soaring through the skies above the lookout with total ease.

Goku had considered teaching them the 'Kame-hame-ha' technique, but thought it would be better suited to Ruby rather than Blake, given the small girls vast supply of power. It was amazing to see such a strong wave come from something so puny, and there was no sign of fatigue from young Miss Rose. Goku was having less luck with their friend Weiss. She was so twitchy and irritable that she could not muster the energy to defy gravity. This made her angrier because her friends could do it first, which in turn made it harder for her to concentrate.

Goku had decided to put Weiss on task learning to fire the same energy wave from her hands, something not completely alien to her. Her form was perfect, and the wave was pretty tough, taking the form of molten ice. She seemed to have a very steady hand for directing the slightly weaker attack, making it lesser but more versatile, which Goku said was an asset in battle. This cheered her up slightly, so much so that's he even managed to levitate a few inches off the ground. While not as good as the other two, whom had been flying around like jump jets, still impressive.

Goku had been hesitant to teach any of them the Kaio-ken technique, as it required a lot of energy, deciding instead to only show Ruby, who Goku found himself liking the most for her levity and sense of fun. The other two scowled slightly at being benched, but understood what Goku meant when Ruby finally managed to invoke the technique and promptly broke both her legs. It was fortunate that Guardian Buu was around, or that might have been a pretty serious screw up on Goku's part. They had all decided after that to wait until they all had a little more control over their own power before attempting that again.

The last technique Goku had demonstrated was the Genki-dama or spirit bomb, a much safer technique that was perfect for training one's mind to gather energy. He had explained that all you had to do was raise your hands to the sky and ask the energy to come, and form it into a throw-able ball with your will. They all tried…and they all failed. Ruby was worst of all; she kept fidgeting and losing focus, while the other two thought the technique was silly and useless in a fight.

Weiss had folded her arms and said "I mean your opponent would just let us stand there and charge it? That's ridiculous."

Blake had agreed. "It's just not viable in a fight, who would ever get hit by it?"

Goku recalled opening his mouth to protest that, when Buu had stepped in looking rather offended. "Big ball not weak, big ball make bad Buu go bye-bye!" and Goku had never seen such looks of utter all it all, as he watched the three hungry girls eat a well-deserved supper, which mr. Popo was now outdoing himself spectacularly, he thought it had been an excellent day of training. He had not had so much fun since he had trained with his own son in the time chamber, all those years ago.

His own power had begun to stir when he sparred with these young warriors. It was strange, almost like their youth and determination was reminding him of what he used to be himself. Who would have thought that he, a man who had fought with demons and aliens, androids and god knows what else; could be inspired by three young girls.

"If you guys keep this up, I doubt that Adam will be any match for you." Ruby instinctively looked at Blake, worried that the mention of Adams name might upset her, but the faunus was so used to hearing it now, and so determined to get stronger, that it seemed not to bother her. This stunned Weiss, but a look from Ruby told her not to pursue the subject. After dinner was polished off (Goku and Buu kept asking for more so this took a few hours), Goku belched loudly and clapped his hands together at the head of the table.

"Right, I think we've all earned a bit of shut eye, your friend should be out by tomorrow." Everybody got up, Ruby rather gingerly on her freshly un-broken knees and moved towards the door to their hospital beds. Goku called Ruby back for something, but the other girls were jostled along by Buu, who was eager for sleep after so much food.

"What's this about Mr. Son" said Ruby, and Goku noticed how tired she looked, today clearly having strained her.

"Don't worry; I just wanted to show something I've been saving." And Goku leaned in and prompted Ruby to do the same. "There's a technique I know that would make you a lot faster than you are right now. It would go really nicely with your surplus."

"Wow you mea-its pronounced 'semblance' by the way-you mean it?!"

"Yeah, it's called the 'instant transmission', and it's how I got rid of that Adam guy before…"

Goku lowered his voice and began to whisper excited instructions into the huntress's ear. Her face grew more and more excited with every second. She agreed with Goku's opt to not tell the others as they're use of it would require a vast change in fighting style. But it was perfect for her. That, and apparently the knowledge of the technique would also be available for Rory to use, her and Blake's fusion.

"…And remember, focus on your destination with your finger on your forehead, got it?"

"Got it." Ruby said in a rush, and in a burst of rose petals, she was gone.

Goku decide to stay up for a while and contemplate those girls. The sun was going down, much like the evening he, Vegeta, Ruby, and Blake had all eaten together for the first time. Goku's stomach lurched slightly at the memory, that had been the moment when the old itch came back...when his promise had been hard to keep. But meeting those girls had changed him. He was a Saiyan and therefore was used to strength, he had been strong all his life. His only goal had been to become stronger, leaving the competition in the dust. But these huntresses were different; they had gotten here from nothing with determination and will. In many ways, they were stronger than he ever was. He placed a hand on his own chest; and felt the long uninterrupted heartbeat beneath it.

" **Sigh** …maybe I've found someone to make you happy Chichi…maybe these can be the earth's protectors…and I can rest easy…"

* * *

 **Hey guys, Johnathan here.**

 **Thanks for reading and sorry for the long delays on chapters. I'm currently studying for exams and i also need to sleep sometimes so...yeah. I hope you enjoyed this chapter (It took every ounce of willpower in my body to not call it 'The evil council of doom').The next one might be while, but i don't know, i might be able to find the time. Otherwise, if you just can't get enough of my writing, please check out my other stories, they all had a lot of work put into them and i appreciate every view because I'm extremely proud of them (Except for that bleach one, i mean Jesus fucking Christ). Anyway, hope you enjoy the rest of this story and any others you check out from me.**

 **Cheers**

 _ **Johnathan Soulless**_


	16. Season 2: Fight and Flight

Ruby's scroll had run out of power, so it was hard to tell what time it was when they all got up. The sun was till far in the east, so she got the impression that it was just after day break. Ruby's shadow was long as it paced up and down the courtyard of the lookout, awaiting a sign. Goku and Weiss were sitting down a little ways off, the heiress showing Goku her failing summoning glyph. The dazzling emblem shone on the floor for a few moments, but inevitably shank and faded to nothing every time she tried. She shot a nasty look at Ruby, who had been skipping very loudly in front of the lookout entrance.

"I can't concentrate with that stupid noise?!" Weiss raged as she stomped on the area where the glyph has glinted moments before. Goku smiled amusedly with his eyes.

"The battlefield won't be silent; you gotta learn to keep your head under stress. Some of the most important decisions you'll make'll be under pressure."

"I-I-I-I CAN'T DO IT ALRIGHT!" And Weiss shouted so loudly that even Ruby, absent minded as she was, and stopped looking at the door ad turned to face her. Angry tears were forming under those bright blue eyes and the grip the young heiress had on her sword looked painfully tight. Goku sighed and knelt down where Weiss had collapsed. The glyph she had produced was even feebler than the last and it dissipated the moment Weiss let go of her sword. Goku raised his hand to Weiss' ear, and flicked it.

"Ouch!" Weiss rubbed the spot on her ear which felt like it had been stung by a bee. "What the hell was that for?"

"Feel better?" asked Goku, smiling deviously. Weiss said nothing, but she had to admit that the sudden burst of pain had brought her back to earth somewhat. It should have made her even angrier, she had been getting more and more frustrated…but now she just felt normal.

"Watch me." Said Goku, and he raise his own hand to the spot where Weiss' glyph had been conjured. The same yellow ball of light appeared to issue forth from his hand and hover there like a miniature sun. Weiss looked from it to Goku, whose face was not strained or pressured; he looked completely at peace with the world, eyes closed and mouth lolling open slightly. He might have been asleep if he wasn't crouching.

She had seen this before obviously, when Goku had demonstrated how to use the Kamehameha, he had shown the girls how to manifest energy. Weiss in particular found it to be quite difficult, as it required a huge amount of focus. The wave of aura that she had released had looked more like her ice dust than the bright blue wave that he had produced. The ball in Goku's hand suddenly twisted into whirl of shape and size and shot into the ground, the tile which it hit crackled into flame for a few seconds and then faded.

"See" said Goku, with eyes full of enthusiasm. "It's not just about relaxing, it's about will-"

Goku stopped talking and looked up; a squeak was heard in the windy distance as Ruby ran head long into Guardian Buu, who had also stopped dead. Goku and Buu shared significant looks. Something was coming.

"Go and wake up Blake!" Goku barked at Ruby, who was still moving rather hesitantly on her new knees. "You guys need to fuse, NOW!"

Nodding her understanding, the small girl in red disappeared, with a swiftness that seemed different than her semblance somehow. Next, the old man spoke to Buu, with the same alert authoritarian voice.

"Buu, can you go and find ?! We need him back here, now!"

Buu looked puzzled for a moment, but then nodded and raising his finger to his forehead, he vanished without a trace.

Goku turned to Weiss, who looked on with wide frightened eyes. His own relaxed somewhat and he spoke more calmly.

"Two power levels are approaching fast" he explained, Weiss gasped in horror, how had they been found so quickly? They weren't ready; Yang and Vegeta weren't even back yet!

"W-w-well what do we do?!" Weiss was shocked to see a smile on his face, and not a panicked or apprehensive one. It was wide and confident, toothy and childish. It was a look of anticipation.

"Well I guess I get to see what you girls are made off. I suppose you should know that one of the power levels belongs to that Adam guy that your friends were talking about. The other guys a stranger to me."

Goku cracked his knuckles and looked on into the cloudless sky, where no such approaching cavalry could be seen. Weiss looked as hard as she could, but couldn't see a thing. It was just the sky.

"Come on princess, you're still using your eyes." Murmured Goku, standing with his own eyes closed. "Feel where they are."

Weiss did as she was told, she looked in the direction that Goku had indicated and closed her eyes.

'Relax' she whispered to herself inside her own mind, 'relax and…' a strange vision came before Weiss, an odd blur, with a kind of wavelength coming from it. Weiss suddenly realised that she was sensing another person's aura. This was incredible, she could feel the persons strength…buts also their emotions. This person was hard, impatient and mutinous, and he was standing next to someone ecstatic, loyal and deranged. She did not recognise this man either.

"That _is_ Adam…" Weiss muttered in a similar fashion to Goku, and when she opened her eyes, a small black dot could be discerned in the distance, and it was slowly growing larger. Weiss recognised the build of the ship. It was her fathers, they had stolen Atlas tech from Beacon after it fell. Weiss' grip on her sword hilt was painfully tight again.

* * *

"Look at the size of that thing," said Adam, gazing in awe of the lookout, "How can something so large stay airborne without any support?"

There was a long silence, as neither Seer nor Tyrian seemed interested in anything that Adam had just said. The mad Faunus was just gazing longingly into the grimm's mirrored depths and Salem was just sitting with her eyes closed, sensing their way forward. Sighing at the stubborn silence of his two companions, Adam began his battle preparations. They had swung by Watt's workshop on the way here and he had given Adam his repaired blade. He hated to admit it, and he would never tell the doctor this, but the human had done a good job. There were no cracks or furrows anywhere around where it had snapped, and the swing was just as fluid as ever. If anything, it felt lighter and from the way it drew blood at the slightest touch on Adams finger, it was sharper too.

Excitement was beginning to mount inside him. Despite their kinship, Adam never really thought that he would be able to like Tyrian, but regardless of his own personal feeling about faunus dignity, he was grateful for his backup to be a faunus. The last thing wanted was that Cinder worshiping illusionist girl or the smart mouthed legless moron. He didn't need thieves, he needed strength, and Tyrian was well known for that, strength with an enthusiasm of a particularly nasty variety. He managed a small smile. 'You won't escape me this time, my dear.'

"Are we close my Queen…are we close?" Tyrian was muttering again, addressing Salem for what must have been the ninth time in the past half hour. He had gotten ready to fight as well, his Pincer like wrist blades were drawn and his concealed tail was swaying from side to side beneath his coat. Salem opened her eyes and looked from Tyrian's eager face, to Adams set features, to the approaching airborne fortress, and began to speak again as she closed her eyes once more.

"I can sense my child here…but the scent is confused…it is almost like he is here…and not here at the same time."

Adam's fist tightened as the castle grew closer, and it took a great deal of discipline to not turn around and tell Salem to cut the crap and be more specific. Adam was getting sick of this mystical mumbo-jumbo, he didn't exactly care about maidens or witches, only about killing Blake and her traitorous family and then returning to the betterment of the White fang. The sooner this was over the better. He did not want this to be too dragged out; her death would be swift and satisfyi-

"INCOMING!"

Tyrian and Adam both reacted at the same time, though in different ways to the approaching bright blue light pulsing towards the aircraft like a tidal wave. Adam's fear made an unsanctioned appearance as he prepared to throw himself from the plane- he _knew_ that attack would destroy the plane! He instinctively grabbed Tyrians arm and tried to drag him out too, they were close enough to jump to the castle at this point, and Adam liked to avoid spilling faunus blood if he could help it, even a freak like Tyrian. However the scorpion man did not seem to want to leave the plane, he had attempted to grab that stupid grimm communicator, with the obvious intention of taking it too. But the grimm was the one steering the plane with its tendrils and there was no removing it, not without going into a swan dive. With a huge effort, Adam pulled him free.

"It's too heavy, quickly!"

"NO, WE CAN'T, my lady, MY LADY!"

Adam grabbed the screaming faunus by the middle and threw himself from the plane, just as the blue light connected with it. The plane exploded with fire and what seemed at a glance to be ice, the force of the impact was enough to propel both Adam and Tyrian to the side of the structure. Adam stabbed at the stone with his blade and Tyrian grabbed hold of his leg. He immediately looked down at the descending wreckage of their transportation and began to bawl at the loss of Seer.

"Hey, listen!" Adam barked, emboldened by being in charge again. "We have a job to do remember?! She's still alive and she'll be proud if we complete it without her!"

Tyrian looked up at him, pouting with tears still in his eyes. But then his expression hardened and he swung forward and pierced the white stone with his own weapon, and proceeded to clime at a steady, almost insect like pace, his tail writhing like a snake behind him.

* * *

Weiss faltered slightly, her footing not having been perfect for the attack, but straightened back up to admire her handy work. The Kamehameha wave had blown that stolen Atlas tech to kingdom come, and there were no signs of any survivors. Rather pleased with herself, Weiss turned to Goku. She was unpleasantly surprised to see a stern look on his face, along with a pair of annoyed folded arms.

"What?" she asked innocently, if not a little defensively. She was getting the impression that her attack was being scrutinized. Goku spoke, and he sounded like he had just witnessed something indescribably disrespectful, like urinating on a grave stone.

"You're supposed to let the enemy arrive first, its common curtesy. That was nothing short of a sucker punch. There's no honour in that."

"There were guns on that thing, I've seen them being built! They are like mobile fortresses!" Weiss shot back, positively outraged that this dirty old man was lecturing her about curtesy. Surely he realised that these guys were monstrous killers who had more deaths to their names than she could possibly imagine.

"Anyway, it doesn't matter." and Weiss saw that Goku had his eyes closed again. "They survived; both of them are scaling the lookout."

"What!?" Weiss started at this information and swiftly reloaded her weapon, she had to be ready. She was willing to bet her name that they would make a highly impressive entrance. The two of them stood ready as the sounds of grunting and splitting rock began to grow more audible. After a few minutes, a shape shot over the edge of the lookout, it flew high in the air like some great misshapen tumble weed before spreading out into the form of a person and slamming to the ground with enough force to make the floor crack beneath his brown booted feet. The man had wide yellow eyes and a ferocious look on his face. His long plat trailed down his brown form and almost touched the ground. His arms were clad in bladed armbrace's that glinted in the sunlight.

He looked from the heiress to the old man and licked his lips in anticipation. Weiss had never seen this man before, but she though that his form was distinctly odd, his leather clad form seemed uneven in places, and it was clear that this was due to him hiding something. What she did not know, but she somehow doubted that a couple of wrist blades were not all this mystery man had to his arsenal. Rather jarringly, the man seemed to lose his vigour for battle, standing up straight and looking back over the edge. When he spoke, it was not in a snarl or growl like Weiss had expected, he spoke in a loud, reserved and declamatory fashion.

"Come along, faster! We cannot keep the queen from her prize!"

Something that might have been a threat answered the strange man, but neither Weiss nor Goku were close enough to hear what it was. A few moments later, a series of shuffles and grunts could be heard just below the rim of the lookouts edge. Then a black gloved hand grabbed at the ledge and yanked the leader of the white fang over the edge up onto the lookout. Weiss felt her stomach lurch a little at seeing the faunus again. The last time they had met, Weiss had been cradling Yang and her bleeding stump of an arm, while he watched on in vengeful hatred. However, the lameness of his entrance had diminished his mystique somewhat, He on the other hand did not seem to have noticed her yet; he was scrambling to his feet and taking a few choice steps away from the edge of the lookout. It was clear that he was not exactly happy with being this high up, and even less so about having to climb most of the way. When he did look up however, his first sight was Goku, standing there at the forefront of the Lookouts castle, as if preparing to defend it from invading forces.

"You!" he bellowed at Goku, who smiled pleasantly, looking wholly at peace despite Adams tone. "No disappearing acts this time, I don't know what you are old man, but my sword is the last thing you'll see before you die!" and Adam drew his sword to point at Goku. Weiss didn't need to look too closely to tell that he was not feeling even the slightest bit threatened. Goku stood facing the two men with his arms casually folded and his face loose and relaxed.

"Sigh…it's been _so_ long since I've heard a villainous speech…I guess the more things change the more they stay the same." Goku said this with a massive air of nostalgia, as if looking back on the glory days of a wonderful career. "So, they did find ya. Fixed you're little bread knife too I see..." Goku flexed his arms and fingers, cracking them against each other. Adam flinched slightly as he moved; he wasn't going to be caught off guard again, not by this old timer. Goku then turned to face the other man, who had returned to his hunched posture, "You, I don't think we've met."

Tyrian stood up straight again and looked at Goku with a mad kind of hunger burning in those yellow eyes. He looked furious, but with a deep breath seemed to master it. He swooped in a flamboyant bow and declared "Why my name is Tyrian, servant and favourite of the goddess of all _grimm_. She requests an audience with one of your number."

Weiss raised her eyebrows, 'queen of the grimm', 'an audience'? She had thought these guys were here to kill _them_. Adan certainly couldn't be here for any other reason than Blake and herself. This all seemed to be lost on Goku as well, as he did not answer or even give any indication that he had been paying attention. Adam couldn't deny that his tone was starting to make a vein throb in his temple, but the faunus took a deep breath and put a lid on the boiling brew of vengeful desire. Instead he turned to Weiss, who stood defiantly with her weapon raised, her hand and expression without fear.

"Where is Blake, Schnee?" He barked, disregarding her weapon.

" _She's_ gone to change, but if you want a fight, _I_ will suffice" said Weiss, proffering her weapon a little more accurately, pointing the blade directly at Taurus' heart. He smirked maliciously.

"I'll get to you eventually, I don't know how you and your whore friend escaped my forces in Beacon...but this is it Heiress...no more running." Weiss said nothing but Tyrian started to giggle at the prospect of violence. He had been hyperactive all day and Adam wanted to get even with this old guy.

"Tyrian, you take the Schnee Bitch...make her suffer for her families crimes against our kind."

' _Our kind_?' Weiss thought as she looked at the man she now knew as Tyrian 'so he's a _faunus_ …but where is his…'

Tyrian instinctively looked over towards where the ship had once been, towards where in his mind, Salem's council had resided. Upon seeing nothing but empty blue sky, the faunus turned back to face his prey, and a singularly murderous smile spread the mad features. This faunus looked thoroughly unhinged Weiss thought, and gripped her sword a little tighter. Tyrian got into an offensive position, his body a little more low slung, closer to the ground to allow for attacks towards the girls dainty little ankles. He would start at the bottom and work his way up...until he had the express pleasure of removing her eyeballs.

He would have charged at that moment, if not for a small noise behind him. The sound was so faint that Tyrian would not have noticed it under normal circumstances, but all his senses were on fire in such a quiet area, and the small scrape of something sturdy on stone floor made him turn around. He immediately stood up straight. There on the edge, right by the precipice of oblivion, barely in one piece was Seer, the tentacles dragging it forward, the crystal in the centre struggling to transmit its otherworldly signal due to several large cracks on its surface, giving the pale woman on the other end a distorted look that greatly exacerbated her look of cold fury.

"My lady...we knew you were not lost...our orders!?" asked Tyrian, the mad grin still ripping his pale face in two. Somehow her communication grimm had managed to escape the crash as they had. Adam did not look back, as he had expected this. Tyrian was greatly pleased that his mistress would get to see him paint this white place with the blood of her enemies. Salem's expression stayed hard as ever, and her mouth barely moved as she stared straight past Tyrian, glaring at Goku.

"As you were, gentlemen."

...

It happened so fast, that Adam thought he had been struck by the old man again. But even as he fell backwards, pushed by some invisible force of immense strength, the old man still stood a few yards in front of him, smugly staring back. It was the last thing Adam saw before he careened over the side of the lookout and fell back towards the earth.

Nobody moved; everybody was momentarily distracted from the shock of what had just happened by a vibrant display of cherry blossoms floating in a circle just about where Adam had fallen. They danced and twirled in an imaginary wind, gleaming with a sinister sweetness. As the petals began to coagulate and form a single shape, the company on the lookout noticed at once that they were not cherry blossoms; they were rose petals, petals that glowed with power. At once, the display of floral energy vanished, and the fused girl stood straight backed and proud before them all, her dark eyes closed, her hands firmly clasping her purple halberd.

Without meaning to, Weiss made eye contact with the girl that she had come to know as Rory and smiled. She had been worried that the reason they had been taking so long was that the fusion had not worked, as it had done on occasion. But now she knew that this attention seeking girl had just been waiting for the right moment to strike, a true huntress indeed. She gave Weiss a cheeky little wink, and vaulted nimbly over the edge, after Adam, just as Tyrian made a mad swipe with his weapon, directed at the girls head. He roared in frustration at his inaccuracy, before turning to Salem, his face slightly bashful.

"Forget him! He is useless to me now! Seize the girl!" Salem yelled, her temper clearly being tested at this loss, but her resolve stood strong as she continued her staring contest with the ever silent Goku, whose thoughts were descending fast, down towards tree and river where those two kids were. He could only imagine the thoughts going through that twin mind of Ruby and Blake. He thought, with perhaps more affectionate understanding of their pride as warriors than as a mentor 'Good luck you two.'

* * *

Adam was spinning and blind, his mask had shattered and flown off in the rush of angry wind that now whipped his face as he fell through the nothingness. He had gotten used to the weightless sensation of falling by now, it having been about five or ten minutes sine he had been struck dumb by the mystery attacker, but he was far from calm. He was dead, he knew it and there was no way to save him now. He struggled and strained at his mind to think of a way to save himself, to stop falling before he...

Adam let himself go limp, his body falling more steadily now and gathering speed as it hurtled towards the earth. He had decided to go out with dignity, not straining to live like some frightened child, he had fought honourably for his cause, and the was alright with this, he was alright to die like a man, falling towards the earth, like a- Adams body suddenly tensed in shock. It was all he could do to not immediately perish from whiplash as his fall was halted by a dark shape above him, silhouetted by the bright unguarded sun above. He strained his brown eyes to see what was holding him, but too late, they were already speeding off towards the ground.

The figure let go of Adam a little too early, and he flew headfirst into the side of a cliff. The force of the impact had been lessened by the fact that he had only been a few feet off of the ground when the mystery figure had released him. Despite this reprieve that had spared his life, Adam felt his bones creak from the force of impact and his stomach churned from the return of the normal rules of gravity that he had almost forgotten about. He did not waste any time ion scrambling to his feet, grabbing for his sword, but his hand fell on empty air and Adam looked down in horror to see that his sword was missing.

With a roar of anger and panic he cast a glance around the surrounding wasteland for any sign of his blade, but all he could see were a couple of mesas and a few bushes. Something made a noise behind him and Adam spun around- TWACK! Something hard hit him square in the face, and Adam felt his nose break. Blinded by pain and his own blood, Adam spun to the floor again, howling and cursing his own ineptitude. This was the second time he had been hit with a rock after falling from a great height, only the first time had ben his own doing, this time…

"Jeez…what kind of reaction time is that?"

The strange voice was coming from somewhere above Adam. Blinded momentarily by the bleeding gash on his forehead, he could not see who was causing it. It suddenly occurred to Adam that he was bleeding, even though the battle had not really commenced when he had fallen, there was nothing that could have depleted his aura…except. The white fang leader touched at his face with his gloved hand, something was irritating him. A small wound, like a paper cut was etched into his skin just below his right eye. Adam was trying to thing what had caused it, when the voice answered the question for him.

"All that aura, and you couldn't even handle a few petals, ha!" the voice laughed sarcastically, and Adam recognised, as if from a past life, the simpering, overconfident nature of that laugh. A short, obese woman came to mind. He stumbled slightly in his sightlessness as he felt his way towards this mystery speaker. Adam had thought he had deduced that it had been his mask that had caused the cut on his face, but now that he thought about it, the voice was right, it had been those weird petals that had cut his face. He had not known at the time, it had all happened too fast, but the image of a split second surrounded by red rose petals seemed to teeter on the edge of his perception, barely glimpsed for the speed of the attack

Adam struggled to remove the blood from his face, presumably while the stranger watched him closely; he felt eyes on him that was for sure. Once his vision had returned to normal, Adam immediately looked up. He was standing at the foot of a small plateau; he had not seen where he was going in his fallen state and on top of this small hill of stone stood the silhouetted figure that had broken his fall, and presumably his nose. He staggered back a few paces so the sun would fall on the mysterious woman's face.

This was quite surreal for Adam, as he both recognised the face, and did not recognise it at the same time. It was chalk white with long black hair down her back, with a bow on her head that hid a pair of faunus cat ears. It was these details that he recognised. Apart from that she was a total stranger; the frilly dress, the stocking suspenders, the dark smiling lips and bright red eyes. Eyes that seemed to boar into him, her gaze made him feel for the first time in a long time, rather ashamed, as though he were viewing something indecent.

"Took your time, didn't you?" said the mystery woman, and for her calm and soft tone, the spite in her words was palpable in every syllable. "Personally, I'd call it an improvement." She gestured to her own immaculate face, in a mocking reference to Adams bleeding forehead and cut up eyes. He bared his teeth and again instinctively reached for his sword hilt again. The woman's smile widened and became even more superior even more patronising.

"W-who the hell are you!?" Adam thundered, his bravado failing to cover up the faunus' fearful look at the large purple halberd in the girls hand. He hated to admit it, but he was in trouble here, without a weapon he was helpless against this opponent; she was armed and had abilities he could not even understand. He didn't even know the stupid woman's semblance, but he knew that she was powerful and dangerous. He considered running, but thought that with her speed and abnormal strength, she would catch him easily. The only way out was through, but di he measure up? There was no other option that to try.

He stared up in fury at this petulant woman whose strength perplexed him so, in her right hand that absurd looking axe and in her left…  
Adams stomach turned to ice, he gawped in horror as the girl held his own precious freshly repaired sword in her unworthy hand. She was looking at it impassively, no longer smiling.

"This sword…this is the sword that cut my quarter sisters arm off…" she said, speaking very quietly so that Adam could barely hear her. She released her halberd and allowed it to keel over and fall on its side with a tumultuous crash. She drew the blood red blade from the sheath and examined it, much in the way that Watts had done back at Salem's place. A twinge of annoyance creased her face for a second as she allowed the sheath to fall to the floor…and crushed it into twisted broken metal.

She kicked the wreckage forward off the edge of the plateau and Adam watched it fall like a downed plane until it crashed against the hard ground and shattered into debris. Looking at it, Adam felt rather cold, lifeless, as though he had been the one crushed beneath someone's steel tread. There was one thing that he knew, there was no repairing something that damaged, one half of his weapon was gone forever, and in that instant Adam gained a full appreciation for his own spite. He could hate more than just one girl, now yes this one was on his list too. They would all die: the girl, his Blake, and all her little human friends! It was just a matter of time…just a matter…of time.

A soft thud caught the fuming faunus' attention and he saw his katana sticking out of the dirt ground. He scrambled forward to examine it. No cracks, no bends, no damage to the body of the blade at all. For the last time, Adam looked up and saw the purple halberd speeding towards him. He only managed to throw himself out of the way by inches. He was blinded again by the cloud of dust that the impact created, a cloud that dissipated completely with a swipe of the red blade. There stood the girl, leaning casually against her weapon, a dull look of boredom on her face.

"You can keep that, it's only fair that you at least try to hit me." Adam's blood boiled, he was done, and he had waited long enough. Putting all of his weight behind the sword, Adam charged at the mysterious woman. Meeting his advance, she drew up her halberd in front of her and the two weapons locked, and the cold deadly eyes met the red seductive ones. There was something about them, the way they were a little narrowed, a little analysing…with the blue around the lashes…

"Blake?"

* * *

 _ **Hey, its been a minute. Thank you for reading. Same mission statment im afraid, im in the middle of exams and this has taken up pretty much all the free time in the past three months. I am still generally keeping to my schedule of uploading installments on this story on Tuesdays, today was just an exception because of the lack of uploads. Sorry about the lack of activity, once I get these exams out of the way, i can write full force again. I have more ideas for different stories in the works aswell. If you think they will interest you, please check out my other stories except for the bleach one which as we have established, is quite the piece of shit. Thank you again, I would not have found the time to do this without the criticisms and guidance that i recieve from reviews and PM's.**_

 _ **Sincerely, with much love and hugs**_

 _ **Johnathan Soulless X**_


	17. Season 2: The fruits of ones labours

Tyrian made the first move, hopped up as he was on the prospect of violence, even more so now that he had his mistress' blessing. Feeling no need for anything more complex, the faunus threw himself towards the defending heiress: 'a simple frontal assault on the girl should be enough to at least rattle her into panic' he thought maliciously. He was therefore quite astonished when the white haired huntress thrust her blade forward to meet his own and shifted her own weight on the ground, causing Tyrian to careen overhead and fall heavily against the stone floor a full yard away from where Weiss stood on guard facing him, ready to parry again.

He sprawled on the floor for only a moment before spinning acrobatically on his back and regaining his footing. The bewildered faunus looked into his enemy's eyes and saw not the fear he expected, but distain, and a confidence that made his already temperamental nerves lurch unpleasantly.

"I'd advise you to avoid the _amateur_ mauvers." The heiress allowed her lip to curl slightly at the overt annoyance coming from Tyrian like billowing steam. "I came top of my fencing class. Second only to my sister in the Schnee family, and it would be hard to tell the difference between us, so _watch_ yourself."

Tyrians scowl turned into a snarl, clawing at the ground like a furious animal, he charged forward once again, slicing at the air, determined to kill. But Weiss was prepared and as if history repeated itself there on that spot, she discharged Tyrians attack in the exact same manner. His desire to pour so much destructive force into his attacks seemed to be robbing him of a certain amount of dexterity. He had strength and speed, but at the cost of control… With the grace and skill of a professional fencer, the heiress sent Tyrian flying into the air again.

Tyrian did not allow himself to fall any great distance from Weiss however, nor did he pause in his next attack. Whatever Weiss had expected, she had not expected this. A long black scorpion's tail had shot out of the folds of the brown coat, and narrowly missed the exposed flesh of Weiss' leg. True her aura would have prevented the spike from even scratching her…but still…if she hadn't been quick enough… swiping her sword upwards in a fluid motion and employing a propulsion glyph at her feet, Weiss used her momentum to both gain some distance and bat the ugly tail away from her. She was slightly unnerved at how her stainless steel rapier seemed to bounce off the oddly hard chitin.

Tyrian straightened up and turned around as Weiss landed on the roof of the lookout. He was smiling wolfishly at her again, clearly aware of the impression that his tail had made on the huntress. There was something about that smile that Weiss didn't like; it was deranged but almost childishly mischievous, as if this mad man had a secret that he was taking great enjoyment in keeping from her. She gulped and made a mental note to avoid that tail at all costs, for as both a clubbing weapon and as a toxic blade, it posed a grave threat.

Tyrian had crouched down again, on his hands and feet like some great pale monkey, whilst still smiling that beguiling smile. Weiss barely had time to react as those teeth came within an inch of her face, and she only managed to evade the first swat of Tyrian's bladed arms. The second swipe caught her in a right cross and the tail spinning around from the rear caught her in a left. Weiss was now the one careening through the air, over towards the back end of the lookouts castle. Tyrian, with a chuckle at his overzealous force, clambered up onto the side of the castle and began to scuttle over it in a very scorpion like manner. 'This was going to be absolutely sumptuous' he thought giddily to himself as the great knobbing joints of the tail vanished from sight.

As the harsh noise of clashing steel violence and crunching stone began to subside, a gentle breeze began to blow as the old man stood facing the creature, and his long black hair flew back away from his face to expose his similarly black and confident eyes. They found the red eyes on the other end of that unearthly video phone and bored into them, trying to discern thought without words. It was the kind of silence that seemed deafening in its complete and total dominance, but both knew that this couldn't last forever, and after settling herself a little higher in her chair, Salem spoke first.

"I see…so you are the one that was giving Adam so much trouble…a mister…Son _Wukong_ was it?"

"Call me Goku" said Goku, with a slight smirk at the obvious mistake, "I didn't catch _your_ name."

"My enemies call me Salem, my friends call me 'my lady'", and now she returned the old man's sarcastic smile with her own, pail curl lipped sardonic smirk.

"I guess I'll call you Salem then". Silence swept over the lookout again following these words, before Goku broke it. "No; by the way, I haven't done anything involved with that little brat's gang. You're probably thinking about Vegeta, he's the one that went into the city to look for survivors after that little…attack of yours." Goku folded his arms and shook his head. "It sounded like you were making sport of defenceless people."

Salem shrugged in her chair and her expression became aloof and disinterested. "Humans are meaningless. Those who cannot defend themselves are merely cattle, fuel for a higher purpose. Don't you think so?" Salem tilted her head as she waited for an answer, while Goku's eyes sharpened; his whole expression suddenly became dangerous. Slowly he shook his head, and Salem was left sitting there thinking how best to reply. Allowing her curiosity to outstrip her boredom, Salem added "Why not?"

"Because their lives are precious to me, they all are. I've saved them more times than I care to mention and I don't regret a moment of it. I don't measure someone's right to live by their strength alone." Goku opened his eyes, his expression souring by the second. "If it comes to life or death, I choose life…but people like you never understand that, you just destroy whatever's in your way."

Goku continued to stare Salem's weird little phone monster down as she stared back, the witches own expression starting to darken. She sighed, "I have heard this before, you know? And it's really beginning to try my patience!" Salem found herself raising her voice, the mounting rage towards Ozpin and to all that followed him. "Humans are weak! What evidence is there to the contrary!?"

Her final word was punctuated by a horrible high pitched scream from the other side of the castle. Something white and shiny sailed through the air over from where Tyrian and Weiss had disappeared to, and crashed down in the centre of the no-man's land between Saiyan and witch. Neither of them reacted in any obvious way, although the sight set Salem's black heart racing, and caused Goku's to swell with pride.

"That's enough talk, show me what this thing can do!" And with no further warning, Goku charged at Salem, readying his guard for those barbed tendrils. He shot forward so fast; he almost knocked over the large pearly blue iceberg, containing a large black pointed severed scorpion's sting.

* * *

Far down below, in the sands of an indistinct wasteland, more clashing and shouting could be heard. The din was mostly caused by Adam Taurus, who was not so much fighting as flailing angrily at a highly amused black haired girl. His failure to hit her with his katana, and her refusal to answer his question was starting to send him into an animal rage.

"Tell me! Are you Blake or not!?"

At this, Rory stopped laughing and looked in the brown, angry eyes. She could not help herself, he looked so pathetic with his blood-stained coat, exposed face and missing sheathe, that the laughter just burst out of her mouth again. She calmed a little after jumping over another of his sword swings and sliced up his face a little more with her rose petal attack, the very same that had seen the faunus fall from Kami's lookout.

"I already told you" she said, letting a few giggles escape at his exasperated sigh of impatience. "Yes… and no. I am her, and I am not. Her memories are mine, and so are her skills, but I am not the one you seek, we are more than that…"

She did not have time to fully complete the taunt as Adam was now swinging his sword so wildly, he didn't seem to be aiming at all. The crimson blade sliced through the air like an overzealous conductor's baton, and gathered in speed each time it missed. He was getting desperate, his standard style of quick strikes with his sword and sheathe was not possible with only Wilt, and this girl did not even seem keen on using her weapon, it remained on her shoulder, wrapped up in that purple ribbon! He couldn't see how he could possibly…

Adam stopped swinging and stared at the blade he was holding. He had remembered his semblance. Normally he only used it while quick drawing for extra impact, but there was no reason why it could to work without it. All he needed was the right opportunity, and this girl would be through. Glancing up, Adam saw the brat floating in mid-air, clearly ready to dodge his next regular attack. He had her now…

"Come on then you little bitch, I know you can't beat me in a fair fight! That's why you keep dodging is it!? You're just a show off with no honour! If you think you can beat me then prove it!

Rory's smile vanished, and her face became quite blank. It was not clear if she was shocked or angry, it was a look that eerily reminded Adam of Blake. Slowly, she began to descend back down to the ground. With a gradual, mindless sort of action, whilst never taking her own scarlet eyes off of Adams, Rory began to reach for the weapon mounted on her back.

"That's right! Come-on, if you've got what it takes then let's see it!"

Then…Adam shook his head, he must have blinked or something because the weapon was now in her hands, fully unravelled of the ribbon, and Adam got to see the weapon in all its glory. The long purple halberd looked oddly familiar to him, it reminded him of an amusing joke weapon he had one been challenged with. All of a sudden it clicked; he had seen that weapon before! But what he didn't know was how this mystery girl had gotten a similar one. Her body was never recovered after all, maybe this Rory knew her.

Adam held his blade out in front of him, as if he were about to duel someone old the fashioned way. He then concentrated on diverting all the damage that his body had taken from the fall, the kicks, the rose petals, everything to the blade of his sword. He had no idea whether this would work or not, but he was going to have to experiment with his semblance at some point, and he was quickly running out of options. The shadowy huntress threw her weapon up into the air as easily as if it too had been made of rubber, and caught the end of the ribbon attached to the end of it. In the most bizarre way that Adam had ever seen, Rory pulled the weapon back down to slam into the ground in front of her, sticking in the dirt. The ground tremored a little and Adam gripped his weapon tight.

'…She's showing me how heavy it is and how quickly she can manipulate it'; He thought to himself, '…shit…this had better work.'

Rory saw how rigid Adam had become, how frozen with fear he was, and her smile returned like the rising sun. She tugged at the ribbon and skilfully caught the handle at exactly the right place to hold it comfortably. She was deliberately holding off her attack to allow Adam more misery, but she knew that the time for fun was growing thin, and action was necessary. The others might be in trouble, and she intended to protect them. Gripping her weapon tightly in her ail hands, Rory dashed forward and swung her halberd at Adams side. At the same time the faunas swung his sword with all his might, aiming for the purple halberd. What happened next defied all expectation.

Adams sword exploded, its blade burned red hot and expanded outward in a shower of furious energy, pushing back against Rory's weapon. The force of the sword strike smacked it aside and collided with the side of her head. The power seemed to disperse upon contact with the girls bow, and Adam felt something hard hit his throat, causing him to stumble back. He managed to maintain his footing, unlike the girl who collapsed back onto the ground, holding her head. For a few moments the two faunus' panted and tried to process what just happened. Adam was floored that his semblance had produced such unbelievably devastating results, feeling now that he at least stood a chance. Rory on the other hand, was sitting on the dirt floor, clutching her bow, and at the faunus ear beneath. The ear that was now half missing.

In the girls mind, the Blake side of her consciousness was blazing, trying to rationalise what just happened. She knew that Adams semblance was absorbing damage and releasing it in a powerful slice, this was how he had cut off Yang's arm. But she had thought that the destruction of his sheathe would make this part of his technique impossible, but now that she thought about it, it made sense that his semblance would still be active even without his ability to quick draw. It was foolish to assume that he would not be able to. Touching at the area where the ear had been cut, Rory found that she felt surprisingly little pain, the heat of the pain appeared to have cauterised at the same time. Well that would help with any blood loss concerns, but if that sword cut something more vital…

Adam looked as though he had collected himself, and raising the red hot blade above his head again, charged forward, aiming for Rory's head again. Being ready for it this time, the young woman brushed her hair with her hand and a cloud of rose petals emerged from it like floral dandruff and danced through the air to meet Adams strike. The sword burned through the petals, but discharged the force of the strike, allowing Rory to parry the weapon to the left with her halberds handle and cut his back open with the blade. He cried out in anger and twisted around, swinging his sword along with it. Rory bent backwards to dodge underneath it and brought the handle up to strike Adams face, which he quickstepped away from and came back with a stabbing motion aimed at her heart. At the same time Rory twisted the halberd in her hands to face Adam. Both put all of their weight and aura behind their weapons and charged.

Rory managed to shift the blade of her weapon in front of the attack, the side of the blade colliding with the powered up Blush. The impact was strong, but the Halberd appeared hard enough to resist the blades disintegration and was instead pushed back. Rory felt her feet make trails in the dust as she attempted to remain standing, thinking fast. This was bad, his blade was just getting stronger with every clash, and she was getting nowhere fast. Adam seemed to have noticed this as well, because he wasn't on the defensive anymore, he wasn't even on guard. He was walking quite casually towards Rory, not a smile on his face, but a grimace of rage. He seemed in that very moment to be every bit a bastard that Blake had ever known him to be: spiteful, merciless, and hopped up on the idea of a slaughter.

"I get it" said Adam, looking at the red mark where the cat ear once stood whole on Rory's head, his breathing beginning to quicken. "You're that pathetic human that got in my way back at that stupid farm…you look different…but you're still weak." Rory's mouth had gone very dry as Adam began to grow close. "If you had surrendered, I might have spared you, I didn't know you were a faunus…but we're long past that now." And now the smile returned that horrible aroused smile that Adam only got when he was closing in on his pray. It broadened to a leer when the girl collapsed to her knees and hung her head, a wordless surrender. Adam had decided to abandon his original idea of decapitation for good old fashion impalement, he had no idea why but given her position, it seemed appropriate. She kneeled at his feet now, and with his sword raised, Adam Taurus was sure of his victory. Unfortunately, as Adam thrust his sword down towards the cat eared black scalp, Rory's face raised, and there was a triumphant smile on her face to match Adams.

"Checkmate" she said softly, as she grabbed the sword hilt. Adams grip on wilt slackened, both with shock and pain. He had been struck heavily in the stomach, but there was no doubt that his sword had met its mark, but as he looked on in horror, the smiling girl with a sword stuck in her head disintegrated into a cloud of rose petals. At the same time, a second pair of hands grabbed Adams free arm and with considerable strength, twisted it painfully behind his back. The faunus grunted in pain as he fell to his own knees, still feeling that hand on his sword arm. He looked wildly from side to side, trying to see what was holding him. His stomach dropped. Two Rory's, presumably the real one and a perfect double, were holding his arms hostage, one was behind him, but he could see a red ruffle protruding from the lowest point on his left side peripheral vision so he knew it was her.

Adam suddenly remembered that odd technique that that other girl and used on that farm, the use of rose petals as the means for creating duplicates. She must have created these when she brushed those petals out of her hair. The other was still holding the arm that housed Wilt, and she was…taping it to him. The ridiculous girl was indeed holding a role of duct tape in her pale hand and was proceeding to bandage the katana to its master's hand.

Adam was speechless with incomprehension, what purpose did this serve? True his blade was not as effective in a stabbing position, but he was by no sense of the word 'disarmed.' But then he smelt sweet breath as the girl behind him, presumably the real one began to speak. The voice coming from behind Adam, while the one that had just finished binding his hand looked on in silence, created an unsettling illusion of telepathy.

"Just in case you're still deluding yourself, I could have crushed you the moment I saw you, you felt it before, how powerful I have become." A slight tug on his neck made a very good impression, not that one was needed, of how powerful Rory's grip was on Adam. "Why so modest?"

Adam wanted to try and shake the bitch off, but something else had grabbed his attention, Adam was staring at his sword. The blade was staring to glow with heat as rose petals glided towards it and daintily landed on it. Within moments the weapon was an inferno, to the point where the duct tape around his good wrist was starting to make Adam worriedly wiggle the fingers beneath the plastic barrier, feeling the heat reaching through it. He did not fully understand what the end game was here until he felt it, the unbidden motion of Adams wrist as it began to tilt sideways towards his other hand.

"You were coming at me with everything you had, my _dear_ " and there was a hefty spike of venom in the final word, clearly an acknowledgment of her disgust of that word since…Adam looked up and saw the cat ears just in view, the bow had disappeared. They were black, with the merest hints of white near the inner sanctum and though one was damaged, they still had an elegant shape, and alluring raven gleam in the sun…they were beautiful…

"You have no idea how many people you've hurt" and there was no sense of levity in the voice anymore, and Adam began to struggle away from the scorching hot blade, but to no avail. "I would see you suffer for every single crime you've committed…but I have places to be and you aren't interesting enough to bother with. But you _will_ pay for what you did to Yang, starting with your arm."

The bloody eyes widened as the faunus began to realise what was happening, and what he was feeling. These traits that enraptured him, the ears, the hair, those wonderful piercing eyes…he knew he had been pierced by them before. He understood, how by no means, but he just knew somehow…that this was Blake. Some vestige of her soul or being was held within this girl, but that made no sense, could this…be her child?! The thought made his position all the more unbearable.

The pain brought him back to reality with another horrible realisation. In his musings about the identity of this mystery girl, Adam had allowed his taped wrist to slide too far, and his inferno of the weapon was now an inch from his bare forearm, the flames already eating into his flesh. For a split second, Adam considered begging for his release, but gave up before he even attempted it, as he could feel the heavy rise and fall of the breast behind him, she was clearly enjoying watching him struggle. Adam had never appreciated how destructive his semblance could be until now, now that it was slowly and excruciatingly cutting his forearm off. He struggled and shook his holder, trying to throw this crazy bitch off, but here muscles had ceased up around him, and her enthusiasm seemed to be strengthening her, as she forced the blade a notch further into Adams arm. Adams head was spinning, he couldn't see any more for the pain, all he could hear was the rush of the flames and the excited breath of the girl as began to scream. He cried out for release, for salvation, and he even begged forgiveness, if only the pain would stop. He didn't want to, he found it humiliating to be in such a position, but his resolve had finally broken, and he just wanted this to end, with either freedom, or death.

"…Alright, I won't take your arm." Came a voice from somewhere, sounding much calmer and softer than anyone could have expected. In an instant, it was over. Adam found himself hunched over on the ground, leaning over his knees as he clutched his burned wrist. He looked at what he expected to be a ruined and useless forearm, to find the wound was rather smaller than he had expected, the pain apparently having been caused by the heat rather than the cutting. Panting hard and wishing he were anywhere else, Adam got slowly to his feet and turned around. The other girl had vanished, and only the one remained surrounded by cascading rose petals that mounted a non-existent breeze.

She was looking up, away from the wounded man before her, towards a distant point in the sky. Her face was impassive, unreadable, until she turned to Adam again, and a smirk curled the dark lips. Her red eyes bored into the blood soaked brown ones, and the appraising look she was giving Adam suggested she was thinking what to do next.

"You need more, I know that much" said Rory, placing her fingers on her chin, as though deep in contemplation. "That was nowhere _near_ what you deserve. However, I'm needed somewhere else, and I don't have time to toy with you all day. Consider this a 'to be continued'."

She turned to leave and the spluttering protest that she had expected burst forth right on time. " _Toy with…what are you…you can't jus_ -?!" Adams words were halted like his breathing by what happened next. A sharp pain in his gut was all the warning he got before he slumped to the ground. He looked down and saw a stab wound in his chest, not deep enough to be dangerous, but sapping the last of his stamina in a single strike. Rory was still walking away, now whipping the pointed end of her halberd on the ground to get the blood of the end.

" _Ciao_ " She said sweetly, as she took flight and set off towards that point she had been looking at earlier at an immense speed. Adam was left looking at the ground, blood leaking from his body and feeling all the heavier from his sense of defeat. He could hardly believe that he had, not an hour ago, been on his way to that stupid castle and had actually felt confident. He could now taste the bitterness of it all in his mouth: the blood, the sweat, the dirt and the hopelessness. He didn't bother getting up, not that he could, given the amount of damage his body had taken in his fight. He looked slowly up and saw that the girl that had beaten him so easily was already out of sight. This always seemed to happen, they left and he watched them go, powerless to bring them back. Adam felt the back of his head meet dirt, and though it was course and rough, the weight of the world seemed to lessen his burden, as the beaten and broken faunus gave into unconsciousness. His final thoughts were of Blake, of her beautiful raven hair…and that sweet scent.

* * *

Goku only had a second to react; those tendrils were strong enough to lift that heavy pedestal and they were a lot faster now that they were not pulling it anymore. Within seconds the seven or eight long black limbs had tensed into life and shot in the Saiyan's direction, their arrow head points glinting threateningly in the early morning sun. He managed to dodge the first two without difficulty, but in the path of six coming at him from different angles, he felt his eyes widen slightly, even more so when he dodged the first attacker and found that it embedded itself deep in the stone floor. Goku did not want to see what those things did to skin! Crouching down low to the ground and summoning up enough energy to increase his mobility, Goku dashed forward between two tendrils and severed their pointed heads with a roundhouse kick. They hit the ground with a tinny metallic clang and disintegrated. He expected the face in the glass to look angry or surprised as he looked back with a spiteful smirk on his face, but was shocked to see the expression reflected upon the pallid distorted woman's face.

Goku threw his head back just in time to dodge the barbed edge of yet another tendril. They looked to be dripping with something that he suspected to be poisonous, and slicing them had availed him nothing, as before his very eyes, a fresh pair of pointed barbed black limbs sprouted from the one he had just destroyed. Goku had no choice but to avoid them now, and their increased number was making this difficult. Even with the instant transmission and after image techniques, the limited amount of space around the lookout was making it difficult to use them both to their fullest capacity, and he dared not take to the air, as this would give the tendrils opportunity to attack from all sides and trap him. The woman in the weird looking glass what saying nothing, only looking at Goku with a dull expression of boredom.

Goku jumped over a tentacle and grabbed hold of it, and tried to pull the creature towards him, but the black material was slippery and surprisingly strong, and his attempt lead to him being lifted up and spun around in circles. He recognised this technique as he had used it before on both Frieza and Majin Buu, but how did this lady know how to use it as well. Goku's hands slipped off the black tentacle, and he flew with a horrible crash into the wall of the lookout, where he was embedded slightly into the stone. He barely had time to let out an exclamation of pain before a series of sharp pains pinned him to the stone. Four of the barbed tendrils had stabbed into Goku's libs, in both of his arms, and in both of his thighs. A fifth tendril wrapped around his neck.

Only now could Goku feel the true weight and strength of these hulking arms, and the unnatural behaviour of that material black material. The way that it remained totally still as the pedestal floated closer, not quivering or bending even slightly to the breeze playing across the lookout. The pale lady in the mirror looked triumphant as she drew nearer to her pray, and Goku could only hopelessly struggle against the knives binding him, against the strangle hold around his neck poised to pop his head like a champagne cork. To make matters worse, that clear liquid that had coated the end of the barbs was now seeping into his bloodstream, though its effects were unknown to Goku and he felt no extra pain or weakness, no more than he would usually expect. Even so, his body was not trained to deal with this kind of trauma, and age had made his muscles more susceptible to pain. It was all he could do to stifle his moans of pain as he worked his muscles furiously to get unstuck, but the tendrils didn't give.

The pale features now sat both inches and miles away from Goku's own face, though neither could truly believe it. Salem scoffed at his struggling and spoke in a tone of mocking indulgent glee.

"You are a _fascinating_ specimen. You have lived for so long…had so many adventures in this world, and on others, and even in the next world…and weathered so many storms…."

The dark eyes were now sharp and alert, still gazing into Goku like he was some awe inspiring painting in an art gallery. The Saiyan still struggled for his freedom, but the tendrils had moved, they were now pulling away from each other, stretching him with that unnatural power. The stone wall broke with a crack and Goku was in the air, suspended by his limbs and neck by this woman from hell. 'What…are you?'

The woman seemed to come back to reality slightly, and smiled at the question that she should not have been able to hear. Yet something about her face told Goku that she had heard exactly what he just thought.

"Oh…I am far more interested in what you are. That energy that Cinder got from your friend is intriguing. Such raw power contained in one body seems impossible for a mere human…unless."

Salem was cut off by a loud crash next to her, it was Weiss, and she was on the defensive. Tyrian, now with a large stump where his tail used to be, was now rabid in his fury, with bloodshot eyes and a snarl like a bloodthirsty beowolf, was stashing at the heiress with all the strength he could muster. Leaving no openings for her to use her glyphs, Weiss was jumping back and using her Rapier to deflect the furious rush of blades that was Tyrian. It was clear to Goku that this guy was done playing games, and was going in for the kill, and the grazes and cuts on Weiss' face made it clear that her aura had run out a long time ago.

A particularly savage series of uppercuts, followed by a head-butt to the chest caused Weiss to drop her weapon, and fall to the ground. Tyrian stood over her and grabbed hold of her pony tail, hoisting her up by it.

"NO! DON'T GIVE U-" Goku's plea was crushed out of him by the tendril around his neck, Salem had not paid the slightest attention to Weiss being disarmed, and this seemed to infuriate Tyrian even more. After a savage look at his mistress, the faunus raised is right arm, aiming directly to the limp girls neck. For the briefest of moments, everything stood still, and Goku felt that familiar burning in his stomach, the rush of heat through his mind as it was wiped of all thought. His once limp and useless hands were now bawled into fists so tight that it was painful, and the arms that had bound him so tightly, now seemed to be made of wet paper. For a moment, he thought he was back on Namek, with the waves crashing against the plateau he stood upon, and the lightning barely missing his body as he transformed into something more than Saiyan. He saw the look of terror on his sons face, and the sadistic look on the face of the monster threatening him…And then, many things happened at the same precise moment.

As Goku broke free of his bonds in one great surge of energy, a shape flew up over the rim of the lookout from the earth below. Rory soared though the air and just before she landed on the white stone tiles, split back into Ruby and Blake. Neither of them looked curious at the strange scene before them, they both looked determined and ready to fight. Blake was missing a bit of her ear. At the same time, the door of the lookout exploded, and a looming shadow could be made out amongst the smoke.

Attention shot from the first new arrival to the explosion of dust at the door, and Salem finally looked away from her ex-captive to see who it was. Tyrian looked momentarily at Blake and Ruby, but did not bother to look behind him. This was a poor choice as the heavy metal object that collided with his skull a moment later might have been avoided, had he turned around. The yellow object sailed through the air, having rebounded off Tyrians skull, who had dropped Weiss and clutched his bleeding head, and landed in front of Ruby. She looked down at it in a mixture of awe and terror. It was Yang's remaining Ember Celica…or what remained of it. The body was extremely battered, as if used in excess over a long period of time, it also appeared twisted and broken in several places. Ruby could only assume that it would no longer be comfortably wearable, let alone still functioning in this state.

But her attention was drawn back to the doorway again by a gasp from beside her. As the dust began to set, and the way cleared for the eye to see, Ruby could finally see what had broken the door down. Her jaw dropped at the sight before her.

The skin was badly scarred in several places, as if from severe burn damage, that had been endured, not treated. The clothes were still intact, but only barely, patches of skin were visible through the brown material. The leather boots, long worn by their owner, began to descend the stairs with a swift and confident step. The distance between the newcomer and Tyrian was closed in an instant, and the hand with knuckles like jaw-breakers, closed around the platted pony tail without hesitation.

"Having some trouble there…lady killer?" Said Yang, with no trace of a laugh.

* * *

 **Hello everyone, Its been a while...**

 **I just wanted to apologise for not uploading for a while. Various factors have prevented me form working continuously on this story for the past few months. Exams, moving house, and problems with my own health have gotten in the way of me doing what I love before, and I expect they will again at some point. I know its a long shot now but i really hope that all of you who started this journey with me want to see it to the end. If you've stuck with this story up to now, i want to let you know that i appreciate it beyond words. More content coming soon, Stay awesome.**

 **Yours sincerely**

 **Johnathan Soulless x**


	18. Season 2: Gross Incandescence

Ruby blinked a few times, trying to get the rest of the dust out of her eyes, because she couldn't be seeing this. It wasn't possible that it was the same person that had gone into that weird room. IT couldn't really have been a year for her, could it? Her silver eyes examined what she believed to be her sister.

Her long mane of yellow hair longer than it was before, and it was matted and unkempt, as though it had not been maintained very well for an extended period of time. Indeed the beauty that had earned her such acclaim back in Veil had been diminished almost to the point of non-existence, despite her figure being somewhat more pronounced. Her voice was not the same either, it was harder, deeper and slightly raspy. She now had a sense of worldliness, of strength and experience, to match her taller and beefier physique. Her power must have increase too, given how much Tyrian was squawking and pleading for release. His flinched when his bloodshot eyes found Yang's cold red ones.

"Release me you bitch!" Thundered the Faunus, his voice shrill and insane in rage and pain. Thrusting blindly with his blades, he managed to lodge one in the arm holding him. Yang's gaze intensified, the eyelids receding into a stare that betrayed anger and disgust, and her grip on the faunus' hair tightened. His pain and protest doubled as the faunus was hoisted up in the air by his long plat. Looking down, Yang saw that Weiss was staring at her, the blue eyes wide with wonder and confusion. The first thing that she noticed was that the scar beneath Weiss' eye no longer looked so out of place. The fair skin was now littered with small cuts and the skin beneath the right eye was raised and purple. Her expression softened, and while no greeting smile lit the face the eyes became more relaxed and concerned, indicative that her soul remained even if she looked different. This made the heiress' expression soften in turn, before turning bright red in indignation.

"I-No! I didn't need help, I was doing just fi-" Weiss began, but Yang interrupted her, the red eyes now back on Tyrian, and all the more alive with malice for it.

"Back off now." Said Yang with a slight edge to her voice, but Weis didn't move. Yang sounded relaxed, surprisingly relaxed given that she had a blade twisting in her arm, but there was a commanding base in her voice that made Weiss nervous. She felt like she didn't know who she was talking to very well, a year alone with Vegeta had changed her physically, so she was almost beyond recognising.

"Why?" The heiress posed the question, allowing her voice to break a bit, as the red eyes that turned on her did not soften at all. She couldn't bring herself to reply to what she heard next.

"I'm going to finish this freak. You'll get hurt if you're too close."

Ruby was half a step closer to her sister when she jumped back, in reaction to a long shadow being cast by the thing that slammed into the stone a split second later. The tendril hit the rock so hard that it sunk a few inches into it before coiling back to its mistress. Blake impulsively placed her hand in front of Ruby to stop her moving forward, in case of further attacks. Her amber eyes were narrow and alert; fixed on Seer , but Salem wasn't looking at her. Her gaze had widened at the sudden arrivals, as well as the sudden flare of strength from the Saiyan in her clutches. It had appeared for a brief second, that Goku's hair and body had been covered in a golden aura. At the same moment, Salem had felt a palpable sense of heat, anger, and fear. She recoiled in her chair in spite of herself, unable to describe why.

Goku had slumped to the ground, bearing his teeth in both pain and anger. He had done it again, even though he was trying as hard as he could to keep his power level from going over that line. He could not become a super Saiyan, if he did, he would be hard pressed to resist permanently cancelling his retirement from being a fighter. He was fortunate that the switch was not as sensitive as it once was. In his heyday, transforming was simple as breathing, but over time and due to serious neglect, his ability to reach that form had become rusty. But fighting onve more had awoken his instincts, and it was by instinct that he achieved the form to begin with. If he managed to push himself too far...he did not want to be tempted. True he had broken his promise to his wife about raising his fists to anyone ever again, but the idea of surrendering to that power, of becoming the embodiment of Saiyan strength…it would be the ultimate insult.

Raising his head, the thought suddenly shot back into Goku's mind. 'WEISS!' He looked over In panic to see if the princess was alright, and forgot his pain for a moment. It was not so much what he saw that shocked him…it was what he could feel. Yang had been strong before, far stronger than any human should be. But never since his friends Krillin or Tien had Goku sensed this kind of power from a human. It was almost like he could see the strength pouring out of her, as if she was giving off burning heat.

A black tendril of Seer flew into the air. It tensed for a moment like a snake frozen in mid-air, and then shot straight at the blonde huntress, its long barbed end aimed at the side of Yangs body that was undefended. The long limbs were silent, and Yang didn't look around to see them approach. 'No!' cried Ruby and Blake in unison. 'Yang, watch out!' screamed, pointing behind her back. None of the others could feel what he could, but Goku alone braced himself. He couldn't tell what, he just knew that it was going to be…big. And just at the point of contact, just as the barb was about to pierce the stub of an arm, Yang Xiao Long burst into flames.

Ruby screamed, Blake covered her eyes with one arm, while still using her other to hold Ruby back. Seer 's body began to recoil from the heat and light, shuddering so violently that the pedestal overbalanced and tipped over onto its side. Weiss had no recourse but to crawl away as fast as she could, looking up in numb horror as her team mate stood there in the centre of a gilded aura, an inferno of bright shimmering gold. The vague outline of a human female could still be discerned from the myriad tongues of flame licking Yang's body, that and of course the writhing and squawking shape that was Tyrian. His threats had become completely incoherent now that the fire was adding to his pain, while Yang appeared shockingly unperturbed by it, she stood straight backed and powerful, still holding Tyrian's hair like some great fire-proof plinth.

It did not sound like normal fire, nor did they move like traditional flames. They were angry and consistent in movement, and making no attempts to spread. For a moment, Weiss was visited by the absurd notion that the flames were obeying Yang, not spreading further than she wished for fear of hurting her friends. Weiss, as frightened and impressed as she was couldn't muster the concentration to sense it, but Goku could feel what was coursing through Yangs body, and it made his insides writhe with worry. The girl had more energy than any human he had ever seen, and yet he could tell she was still holding back. she had learned to hide her power and bring it out in short bursts. From a child who was so quick to temper, he had never expected her to grasp energy manipulation so well, and this fire was more than mere energy, he could sense that. He looked intently at the aura surrounding the young woman, it did resemble something he had seen before...But where?

There was a loud thump, the sound of a body hitting the ground, and the large fiery presence became two. A second figure adorn with flames had broken away from the larger figure and had began to stagger away, flapping it's arms like a bird. It was clear that Tyrian had been released, as to whether his hair had been released or simply burned away was still unknown. Blind, delirious with pain and still screaming in agony, Tyrian collapsed to the ground in front of a spellbound and horrified Ruby, and began to roll back and forth on the stone floor in an attempt to put himself out. Blake took one large step away from the huddle that was Tyrian and reached for her weapon, which was sitting in the sheathe affixed to her back.

Ruby found that her legs had decided for her, whether to run or not and the burning man on the floor was beginning to crawl forward. Despite all of Blake's tugging and protest, Ruby found herself standing perfectly still as the blackened form stopped about an arms length from her and began to reach. Whether out of pain or confusion, desperation or murderous intent, Ruby never found out. The moaning blackened form only had a second of reaching time before the very sun itself decided it was time to die. Yang had appeared over him so fast, it would have appeared to untrained eyes that she had simply blinked in existence. Goku could tell that she had just used her energy to enhance her movement, but that was just about all he knew. Her energy was something like the technique of a fighter he had met in the other world, Pikkon, a warrior that fought with flame...but this was different.

Yang's fist closed for a second time around Tyrian's head. The only difference was that now the body was limp and devoid of all resistance. As his feet left the floor, the golden flames receded to the point where Yang's normal body was visible, merely bordered with a golden aura of that unnatural fire. The look of repulsion had only intensified as the huntress looked upon her work, at the charred flesh of the mad faunus. She turned to look at Goku, she started slightly at the bloody state of his arms and legs.

"Hey, Goku! A-are you okay?!" she shouted over towards the wounded Saiyan, you answered with a simple thumbs up. Yang's face relaxed slightly at this affirmation. "Listen! This guy is still alive, but he's gonna need medical attention! That Buu guy can cure burns and broken bones, right!?"

Before Goku could even begin to answer, A loud scraping noise distracted him, and looking around, he saw Seer pulling itself back into a levitating position. The pedestal was turned around, and yet Goku could still see the face within. While it appalled him to see that she was not at all affronted at the maiming of her only remaining ally, he couldn't help but feel impressed at her total lack of fear. The marble smooth features were completely impassive and controlled, staring at the newcomer with polite interest.

"He's done" Yang muttered, and with one final sneer at Tyrian, and an uninterested glance at Seer , she threw the prone body with tremendous force towards the castle. He hit the wall with a horrible crash, and similar to the way Salem had pinned Goku, The ex-scorpion man was embedded in the stone, unconscious. Turning back to Goku and that weird floating octopus thingy, Yang saw Goku straining to hold back a huge black spike inches from his face, his hands on either side of it, slipping slowly off due to the clear liquid seeping from some unknown source. Salem's attention was now back on Goku. Seer 's pedestal drifted closer towards the struggling Saiyan, the white face shimmering with malice.

"Hey!" Yang took several steps towards Seer , her golden halo of energy glowing once more. "Get off him, why don't you idiots pick on someone your own size, instead of defenceless old men!" Salem's open mouth closed, and the white face turned to face Yang. The sun was catching the glass from this distance, so Yang couldn't see the imperious features within, or the patronising look in the black eyes.

"You and your friends seem to be labouring under the delusion that you have some kind of advantage. Allow me to correct you. The three beside you expended their aura fighting the peons I brought with me, and this old man is past his prime and in no state to harm me."

The soft voice was barely raised, yet it carried far more than it should have naturally. Yang felt as if the words had been whispered in her ear. All of a sudden, for the second time in her life, Yang began to feel a chill in the air, an indescribable sense of dread emanating from that jellyfish looking thingy. Vegeta was right, evil energy did feel different.

Through the pain and dread of what that barb would do to his face, Goku felt a small pang of annoyance in his stomach. 'Defenceless old man?!' But then he caught sight of Yang's face as it became clearer. She was walking swiftly his way, and she was smiling. There eyes met and the smile broadened, and Goku realised that he had seen that smile before. It was exceedingly similar to the look on Vegeta's face when contemplating an outmatched foe. Salem opened her mouth to speak again, but Yang spoke first.

"Its a shame you aren't anywhere _near_ as powerful as you think you are. Its obvious that all I need to do is avoid those spikes and attack the video phone." She had stopped walking about ten feet away from Salem, and the smile was still wide and mocking on Yang's face. The aura around her was also beginning to get excited, it was no longer a subtle tint around her form, but dancing flames once more. Salem began to laugh softly.

"You may have observed a few primitive attacks child, but I have full knowledge of _your_ abilities." A long black tendril moved between the two women and brandished its sting. "This liquid allows me to delve into the minds of whoever touches it. Through it, I have learned your Saiyan friend's techniques, as well as all the abilities of your friends. I have studied you very thoroughly."

"Oh is that right? Then why were you so turned off when I cooked your faunus?" said Yang, subtle hints of spiteful laughter punctuating her own speech now. "Thing is, powered up grimm like that don't like the heat and light, _do they_? Why do you think they backed off when I showed up, and when _he_ showed his true nature?"

Yang was pointing at Goku, and it was as if understanding travelled like energy between them. Goku knew that Yang knew about super Saiyan's. Her ability to observe her opponent had also increased dramatically. But would it be enough? Ruby and Blake were still gaping at Yang, impressed by her total lack of fear in the face of such a disgusting threat. But Weiss was now seeing beyond what her eyes could deduce, now that she had calmed down, she could again utilise the skill of sensing a persons life energy. This allowed her to see the scene before her as Goku had seen it before, she could see and feel the power coursing through both the pedestal and her friend. It was hard to tell who was stronger, Goku hadn't taught her how to do that yet, but something about Yang's...

" **HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH**!"

The ground beneath Goku's feet began to shake as fire burst forth from Yang's body, given life by her cry. The tongues of flame changed once more, coiling around their masters body, as if to protect her. Goku's breath caught in his chest, and he struggled not to smile in wonder at what he was looking at. He recognised this technique now. The thought of it wasn't exactly happy, but it still gave him great nostalgia to see it used by someone so powerful. This energy coating technique was what that other Saiyan that had come to earth with Vegeta had used to fight both him an Tien. The energy would burn the users surroundings while leaving the user unharmed. It worked as both a weapon and a shield. An old child like enthusiasm, long suppressed, now pounding in his chest, Goku managed to throw off the tendril and jump back to a safe distance on top of the lookout, all the better to watch.

Salem too was staring at this new sight, not in excitement, but in fear. It was not a pleasant sight to behold. The girls body was a pier of pure yellow fire, travelling ever upwards in long spikes of friction energy. However, a pure red outline of the girl within could be made out. The features were obscured by the fire, leaving them black, but you could still make out the eyes, diagonal in fury, as red as a blood moon. The hellish silhouette took a single step, and at once Salem felt the pedestal recoil, the tendrils were drawing back toward it, even her own Seer in front of her throne was fidgeting uncomfortably. She could not make them move, not one tendril wanted to be anywhere near that kind of heat energy. The witch struggled to think of a solution as the silhouette drew ever closer, her hand now bawled into a hammer like fist.

The black eyes flew to the three girls over by the edge of the lookout, and within nanoseconds of her wish for it to be done, one of Seer s tentacles shot in the direction of the faunus. Even if she didn't know any of this flame girls weaknesses, she might make a useful hostage. But the tendril that was intended for the rooted faunus found itself trapped beneath the heel of a boot. Not a brown boot, adorn with fire, a small and red booted foot was pressing the black arm into the stone floor, the heel on the spine. Ruby Rose stood on top of the dark limb, her cloak flying out behind her, the Crescent Rose glinting threateningly in her hand.

Once again, Blake was struck dumb. She could have sworn that Ruby had been behind her, she still had her arms raised. Not only had she managed to get around Blake completely unseen, she had also managed to regain her weapon. Ruby's semblance of speed was well documented, but Blake had assumed that Ruby's aura had been used up by the fusion, and there was no way she could move that fast regularly. Then something else skipped through her mind, she was still a little dazed from the shock of her ear loss, and the strain of the fusion, so it was possible tat she imagined it, but for a split second, she could have sworn that Ruby had muttered something an instant before the barb had been inches away. In a rapid flourish of red, the scythe regressed to the rifle, the barrel poised to fire directly between the slowly widening black eyes. There was a loud bang, a flash of silver, and the whole pedestal shivered from the shell casing embedded in the glass.

"YANG, THATS THE WEAK POINT! GET IT!"

Yang hesitated for a single second, her shoulders squared, her eyes set. Then she took off, flying at Seer with the speed of a missile, her feet not touching the floor, she shot along like a great yellow jet ski. Three of the tendrils shot forward in her direction, without the fire, their target was quite unprotected. But they could not account for her speed, and as she weaved within the first two and punched the third out of the way, it was clear that though the hell fire was gone, the remaining yellow aura was enough to at least weaken the tendrils. They recovered quickly, wheeling around and approaching the huntress from below. Yang dodged the first again, and used her right leg to kick the second off course.

The third she dodged also, but only to the point where it could not curl around and stab her, then she grabbed hold of the slippery blackness. Goku was impressed at her sure grip on that strange material, that had stumped even him. The tendril struggled and writhed like Tyrian had done, but to no avail like before, and the huntress did not let go. Instead, she wound up a handful of slack on the great tentacle, and pulled with all of her might, looking down on the pedestal. If she could get it in the air, she would not have to hold back. But the pedestal did not move, it shook slightly with the movement of its limb, but otherwise remained stationary. Yang was shocked by this, and as she looked closer at the black floating mass, her eyes widened at what was happening to it, for the pedestal itself was starting to glow.

Not the bright kind of fire that Yang had blinded the lookout with moments earlier, this fire was burning cold, black and eerie. At the same moment that she had noticed this, the tendril gave an almighty tug on Yangs arm and she went pelting towards the ground. She hit the stone with a crash and a cloud of smoke. The shudder that shook the lookout temporarily dislodged Ruby's foot from the tendril in the stone beneath her, and that was all it needed. In a flurry of black and white, the tendril was free and bearing down on Ruby like a wolf. The second boot to hit it was brown and shabby, it was Goku. Without a moments explanation, he grabbed hold of Ruby and Weiss' shoulders and...they were gone.

The tendril looked, as if the barb was the head of a hydra, from side to side looking for its prey. Salem looked over at the empty space with mild disappointment. She had really wanted to learn about, and kill that one. She seemed to have uncommon control over her aura for such a young...

The thought was interrupted by a sudden pressure on one of the tendrils on Seer . The extended one that had pulled the blonde to the ground. It was still taut and stretched, as if still being pulled. The smoke had cleared and Yang Xiao Long was revealed, she was on her feet and still holding the tendril that had pulled her down. Her grip had slipped slightly, now gripping the solid spine.

A blurred and distorted image swam before Salem's eyes. Perhaps it was due to the tight, almost breaking point grip that the girl had on Seer , but the flashing colours and shapes bared practically no resemblance to the images extracted from the Saiyan. The abstract shapes suddenly stopped moving and instead, turned the colour of sunlight. It was strange, the beads of light appeared to be travelling very fast in a single direction. The image swam for a few seconds longer, and then it vanished, as the tendril was severed. A Karate chop with the force of a jet engine had sliced through Seer like butter, and looking up at the girl, Salem saw why. Yang was not holding Seer in her hand anymore, and the severed spine had vanished after being dropped on the cracked floor, in the wake of a ball of glowing fire.

Yang held up the orb of glowing light, pointing it at Seer , who raised its tentacles in defence, quite independent of Salem's control now, she was content to sit back and watch all this pan out. The red eyes flitted towards the place where the remaining members of team RWBY had been, and exhaled when she saw that they were gone. It meant she didn't have to hold anything back now, this meant she had the element of surprise. Losing patience at last, Salem cried out for Seer to attack, and the grimm obeyed with a single tendril aimed directly at the huntress' gut. She laughed in triumph as the barb found its mark...and passed right through it. The face that had been so calm for the majority of this encounter suddenly creased into a frown as the blonde girl before it shimmered and vanished into thin air. What was going on?

"We aren't playing hide and seek, child!" Salem shouted to the empty lookout. "Seer grants me 360 degrees of visibility. You cannot hide from me, nor can you catch me by surprise."

" _SURPRISE~!_ "

In the wake of the exclamation from the heavens, came a series of excruciating burning pains on Seer 's tentacles, beneath a blinding golden light. Yang was above Seer , the golden fire in her hands now expanded to encompass her whole hand and splitting off into individual beads of light that were shooting like bullets at Seer. Salem could feel Seer 's limbs being disintegrated one by one under this monsoon of flame. Salem knew she had to do something, or her grimm would be destroyed entirely, but the dust and bright lights were so wide, so all-consuming, that she could not tell which way was up. That is, until the dust cleared and the pain ceased.

Yang had used the distraction to try for a frontal assault, but had misjudged her trajectory. She now stood with her fist inches from the crystal reflection of Salem's face. Two tendrils pressed against her chest, preventing her progress. The force of the thrust had however, been so powerful, that several of the cracks from Ruby's shell had spread. Salem was sure that her grimm was in no fit state to survive contact with it. Even so, she allowed her body to relax, a moments panic had made her stupidly afraid. She had the girl restrained and with this better grip, she was getting a much better view of what that memory from before was.

* * *

 **The girl was standing as Salem knew her, but looking much more worn out than she was at present. At least that's what Salem thought she was looking at, the bright light emanating from the girl's hand, fighting off a much larger light coming from the opposite direction. The two beams of light were locked in a collision, each trying to consume the other. Through the dense light, Salem thought she could see another figure on the other side of the light, but the shadowy human figure was too obscure to make out. Salem felt an odd sense of familiarity with that figure, and even though she didn't know who it was...she knew that she wanted them to win this.**

 **It seemed to be happening, whoever that person was, their light was far bigger than Yang's, it was bearing down on her and her own was beginning to flicker and shudder angrily, like a candle about to be put out by the wind. Yang, hunched over with her only arm raised, bellowed something that Salem could not hear over the wind and light, and the larger light bead was the one that flickered and shuddered. A second later Yang's body ignited, she was screaming and burning and concentrating all of her mind, all of her soul on forcing that flame right back towards that shadowy figure. The opposing light flinched...and was devoured in fire. Salem did not see who that opponent had been, but she knew. She...knew.**

* * *

Yang's fist collided with one of the tendrils within inches of the pedestal and began to struggle to get closer. Salem came back to earth and with a fury yet unseen by Yang, she drew a barb very close to her eye and spoke very slowly in a voice of cold, murderous, venom.

"What did you do to it?"

Yang continued to struggle, but smiled cruelly "Where's what? Your scorpion friend is simmering nicely, and Ruby probably killed the other one, shame really. I would have liked to do it myself."

Salem gave a particularly violent gesture and three more tendrils came dangerously close to Yang's skin. The aloof voice was gone, now Salem raged with all the strength she had. "You know damn well what I mean! Where is it!? What did you do to it?!"

The smile became more modest, but no less harsh. "I did what I had to do, and if this world has any justice, _its_ suffering."

…

The tendrils receded, and the pedestal began to drift away slowly. Salem looked on within it, her face more corpse-like than ever, with wide eyes staring in horror at the young girl in front of her.

"It...was a child..." Salem whispered in numb disbelief. "How...how could you do that...to a _child_?"

Yang did not answer. There was no answer to give. She felt no remorse for what she had done, none of it had been ideal obviously, but she had no regrets. She was not going to take morality lessons from a person that made friends with genocidal faunus murderers. This was it, she had had enough. Yang raised her hand again, pointing threateningly at the pedestal with the palm stretched to its fullest width. Salem knew what it was, she had seen it in Goku's mind. Seer turned and began to make its way towards the edge of the lookout.

" ** _DEMON SUN_!** "

Salem heard the fire but did not look, she knew what was coming, and she did not want to lose Seer to it. Yang, enrobed with flames, tensed her wrist and allowed a small bead of light to form in her palm. Moments later it had expanded to the size of a golf ball, then to the size of a basket ball, and finally, the orb loomed over the huntress, like a miniature sun. Yang tensed her hand and the orb began to flash gold in the centre.

" _ **BIG BANG ATTACK**_!"

Salem had reached the edge but her 360 vision showed her what was coming. A vast white and golden light that had no end. It was inescapable, she knew that, Seer's tendrils were nowhere to be seen. The image of Salem's face began to blur, as did the golden light for Salem in the crystal of the other Seer. In one more shudder of burning pain, the crystal went blank, and Salem sank back in her throne, quite numb with indignation and a crushing sense of defeat. Her baby...her dear little baby...

* * *

"I think it might be safe to come out now." Goku lowered his outstretched arm and gestured for those behind him to follow, and slowly they exited the lookout. Goku went first, followed by Weiss looking worried, Blake still looking bewildered, and finally Ruby who wore an almost tearful expression. The lookout had surprisingly survived a lot of the attack, only a couple of scuff marks and craters littered the tile expanse of floor. Goku thought that Mr. Popo might even deem this acceptable. Yang was still standing, the fire now subsiding into its golden halo around her body, and then into her normal skin. The traces of the ki she had been using still lingered around in the air, though only Goku could tell.

Yang, now with her hand free, closed her eyes and allowed the aura to flicker and vanish. She then turned to her team mates. All three of them were gaping at Yang, whose expression had finally regained some of the colour that it had held before the chamber, before the attack on Beacon. First, Yang walked up to Weiss and took hold of her chin, and brought Weiss' face very close to her own. For one bizarre moment, Weiss though Yang was about to kiss her. But the lips passed her own and whispered in her ear instead.

"Nice to see you again, Ice Queen."

Weiss made a funny kind of squawk of protest and Yang drew away, a grin wide on her face. "'See', get it? We match now. Hope I can make it work like you do." Yang was pointing to the eye that she was winking with and indicating the deep scar that hung from it, matching the scar on Weiss' cheek. Her face still red , making a horrible contrast with her white hair, Weiss diverted her eyes and murmured something indecipherable, though the word 'Idiot' could be made out. Yang's smile faded slightly as she looked over her team. They wore the scars of battle, well, all except Ruby. Blake's missing ear caught her attention first, but she made no comment.

She then turned to Ruby, and placed a hand on her black and red hair. She looked down and saw that Ruby's eyes, which up to now had been so wide and horror filled became shaky and began to leak. "You're getting smaller, I swear. I might hav-" But at that exact moment, Team RWBY closed ranks into a hug, embracing Yang from all sides. The gesture was somewhat ruined by them all jumping back a split second later, gagging and covering their faces. Yang smiled apologetically. "Oh yeah, sorry about the smell. There wasn't a change of clothes in there and I'm not that good at laundry." Weiss now refused to stand near Yang, contenting herself with standing a few feet away and making furious assertions about personal hygiene.

When Yang turned to Blake, her smile vanished. This stunned Blake, she didn't really know what to say. It was an odd moment, the fact that she had only been gone for a day, and yet a years worth of moments had passed. She felt an odd kind of sympathy looking at Yang, from her now healed over arm cut off at the elbow, to her scratched and scarred face and unkempt clothes. This feeling continued as Yang took a few steps towards her, as she took Blake's chin like Weiss', and as her red eyes drew level with Blake's Yellow ones. For a moment that contained an eternity, They looked at each other, and then Yang slid her face forward...and kissed Blake deeply on the mouth.

The silence on the lookout was of stunned disbelief, all eyes were on Yang and Blake, at the closed eyes that were clearly savouring the feeling, and the wide staring eyes that were still completely nonplussed. When The two broke apart, the world seemed to regain its freedom to act. Blake half jumped, half stumbled away from Yang, her forearm covering her mouth, her whole body shaking, her eyes huge. She looked more like a cat now than ever before, crouching with two feet and one hand on the ground, her ears raised to their fullest height. The noises that were coming from her however were nothing of the feline. she was spluttering and stammering as though she had just been force fed something poisonous.

"Wh-wha-but you-but I-but-who-but when did...why?!"

Yang rubbed the back of her neck and smiled again, she could not help herself, she was not used to apologising so much. "Sorry again...its...been a while, and you're the only person here who isn't old, a dead bad guy, my sister, or..." Yang looked furtively at Weiss, and scanned her form with an embarrassed look on her face, "...too short."

At these words, Blake stood up on two legs again, and allowed her eyes and forearm to relax, though her ears still remained alert. Though seeming to be back in their usual stoic expression, Blake still a red face that gave away her own embarrassment. When she spoke, it was in a pitch much higher than what was natural for her. "Right...I see..." This seemed to satisfy Yang, and she turned back to look at the castle.

"God...you really feel the seconds go by in there. A whole year..." She stopped talking and something of the hardness returned to the face of the huntress. The look was of unpleasant recollection, everybody could tell that, even Ruby. This prompted Weiss to move a bit closer, although still holding a handkerchief to her mouth and nose. Ruby was wearing a very peculiar expression. If Blake's reaction had been like a cats, than Ruby's reaction was akin to a curious dog. Her face was painted with a look of total incomprehension, with her head cocked to one side, staring at the point where Blake's and Yang's lips had touched, even though both had moved away. Goku was looking intently at Yang, rubbing the wounds in his wrists. His voice however, was still light and excitable.

"That was some nice ki! You're a lot stronger, and still alive." He gave a short laugh while rubbing the back of his neck. " Hope Vegeta didn't give you too much of a hard time. Oh that reminds me, where's Vegeta? Its not like him to miss a fight. What happened, did he just wanna show off how he got a human through the time chamber?" For a few moments longer, Goku laughed, and only stifled his amusement when he noticed the lengthy silence spreading across the lookout, and he only stopped when Ruby spoke.

"Yang...are you okay?"

The huntress was not looking at Goku, nor was she looking at anyone else. She was staring straight at her laces, and she did not reply. Slowly, she sank to her knees and reached over, touching her stump uncomfortably. Equally as slowly, Goku knelt down and placed a hand on the girls shoulder. The Saiyan could not see the huntress' eyes beneath her hair, but when a gust of wind brushed her face clear, he was able to see those distinctive red eyes turn hollow, defeated, and almost guilty. Goku repeated, slightly softer now, but with an insistent and almost severe edge in his voice. His own face was starting to lose colour slightly.

"Yang... _where is he_?"


	19. Season 2: Spirit, Time, and Saiyan Pride

**50**

Yang had her half guard up and was attempting to fend of the hard punches from the old man, but her skin was starting to go numb from the painful impacts, and the illusion of her iron defence was lessened by the fact her posture was crumbling with each attack. And suddenly, completely taking Yang by surprise, Vegeta abandoned her arm and went straight for her face. This impact was so all-encompassing that it made Yang's ears ring. Her legs finally buckled and collapsed beneath her and the huntress fell.

Yang felt like her nose was hanging off by a thread and saw blood on her fingers when she drew them away from her nostrils. Her aura was gone already. Getting up quickly, Yang looked up to see Vegeta standing in the distance. She was hardly surprised that he had moved so far in such a small space of time but couldn't help jumping out of her skin when the old guy appeared within inches of her, his fist pelting through the hot, dense air like a charging bull. This impact was also enough to knock Yang back to the ground...or was it an impact? She had felt the shock and aches of the hard floor against her back, but no pain from her face. For a second time, she opened her eyes and looked up. Vegeta was still there, looming over her like a lion over prey. His fist was still raised in the air and he looked disgusted at the sight before him. His nostrils were flaring and the vein in his temple was back.

"Now do you see!?" He barked, with a cruel little chuckle. "You can't just let your enemy knock you down, you must be the one who stands, not them!"

Yang bit her tongue and didn't answer. It would be worse if she did. As usual, he sounded like an asshole. All day he would yell and make remarks about Yang's strength and how to improve her. If she didn't know better, Yang would have thought that she was being 'trained' more like a dog than a person. But it wasn't just him that was grinding on her nerves, this place was starting to get to Yang. The flat nothing could go from frigid cold to merciless heat in mere moments, and Vegeta did not let yang keep a safe distance. Their training sessions were horrifically long and demanding, the Saiyan mostly just using her as a punching bag, and expecting her to get better, and the gravity made things worse.

"Get up."

Vegeta had withdrawn his fist and folded his arms. He had an arrested look, as though the sight of Yang on the floor was shameful. IT took some doing, but Yang managed to scrape her bones off the white material. Vegeta's eyes scanned Yang's form, presumably choosing where to hit next.

"Again."

"Can't we just stop for a sec, I need a break?!" Yang blurted out, her speech cut with desperate panting. Vegeta looked straight into Yang's eyes and his expression did not change. She had not meant to say that but knew that it was true. Her body was unprotected, and if this continued, this crazy old man might inflict permanent damage. The blood from her nose wasn't stopping and it felt like at least three of her ribs were broken already. Vegeta closed his eyes and frowned for a moment. Yang didn't really know what to do, they had been at this for hours and she really had expected another lecture about her weakness. When Vegeta opened his eyes however, they were joined by an evil smile.

"Fine, I'll make you a deal. Hit me and you can have five minutes." Yang sighed, how many times had they been through this?

"You can't be serious! I'm beat, there's no way I can keep up with you!"

Vegeta's smile lessened, to be replaced with a smug and slightly challenging smirk. The look made Yang's blood boil, and her only remaining fist clench. With deliberate laziness, Vegeta put up his guard.

"If you can manage to land a hit on my face, you get your precious break. You might..."

Vegeta went on to say something else, but Yang wasn't listening. She was experiencing rage unlike she had felt in a long time. An old man was lording his strength over her. She had won the Vytal tournament? Crippled a guy? She was not weak, and yet this guy had the nerve to imply that she was powerless. But the pain in her ribs and nose reminded her of reality, and the reality was that Vegeta was strong, impossibly strong, probably a lot stronger than he was letting on too. Yang clenched her teeth while looking into those black eyes and decided that she didn't care about strength, or about aura, she was pissed off and tired, and if pounding this old timer was what it took, then so be it.

Without any warning, before the Saiyan had even stopped talking, Yang put all her weight on her right foot and launched a furious left hook straight at that smug face. Her hand was within another a split second later. Vegeta had caught the punch effortlessly and threw it away with lazy disinterest. He did the same with the knee that came within inches of his right cheek, and pushing this away caused Yang to stumble, but not fall.

"Well done, you managed to stand on your own two feet" mocked Vegeta, and Yang started feeling those familiar prickles in her neck that told her that her semblance was starting to kick in. But that was impossible, she was out of aura, she couldn't use her semblance. Looking back at Vegeta, she noticed that he had taken a step backwards after the attempted kick. This meant that the impact had not been fruitless. If she could wrong foot him...knock him off balance...

Without pausing to think any further, yang charged forward with a series of hard punches, each aiming for a different part of Vegeta's body. Like clockwork, he deflected them all. Yang felt a pang of rage when a particularly hard knock from the Saiyan's knee collided with her fist, but she did not stop. When she could manage it, Yang would glance up at Vegeta's face. he was starting to look excited, far more enthusiastic than he had been the last time he had tried this on Yang.

His blocks were becoming showier and elaborate, he was getting cocky. One particularly vibrant deflection left his stomach completely exposed. With a sudden spark of inspiration, Yang thrust her arm out to attack that area. Noticing his mistake, Vegeta moved both of his hands down to that area, intending to catch Yang's fist and writs at the same time. But now when contact should have been made, Yang stopped her punch in mid thrust, allowed her semblance to boil over, and threw her head with all the force she could muster right into Vegeta's widening eyes.

As she felt the skull cracking contact with that unusually hard head, what should have been elation was replaced with disappointing, sickening pain, followed by a horrible twisting weightless feeling before hitting the ground. Opening her streaming eyes, Yang saw that she was on her back once again. Looking up at Vegeta, she could see through the film of watery pain that his fist as raised once again at the stomach level, his eyes looking straight ahead, his face contorted with rage. A red depression in his cheek provided evidence that Yang's trump card had worked.

"W-why...why did you...?" Yang coughed and spluttered on her own words, she felt like she had just been in a car accident, her mind was hazy and starting to go blank. The last thing she saw before she faded into half sleep was Vegeta, looking slightly disappointed.

"So, your power does have a limit. Alright fine. Have your stupid break!"

* * *

 **100**

The next few months were excruciating for Yang. Her training had been kicked up a notch when Vegeta had learned how her semblance worked. He now insisted that they trained more often, from early in the morning to late at night. Eager as she was for these sessions to end, Yang was grateful for the large clock that sat in the shrine, which was the only indication of day and night inside the chamber. She was really beginning to feel the sting of being an amputee, and Vegeta did not relent to account for this at all. It was difficult to fight when one side of her was completely unguarded. Vegeta noticed this too, as he often went for that side of Yang, forcing her to find some new instinctive way of defending herself presumably. Yang was also being subject to Vegeta's curiosity with her semblance, and that involved additional punishment of both her body and mind. Finding out that Yang had to be damaged and angry to Vegeta, seemed to be a gift beyond his wildest dreams, and he clearly had fun jeering at Yang while he fought her.

Yang wasn't disappointed either, as if by flicking a switch in her mind, she was beginning to bring out her semblance after fewer hits. This was not a direct improvement of it, so Yang didn't see why it was being trained, surely it was her physical body that needed training? She thought this while her forearm was locked with Vegeta's on the thirteenth day, just before he pushed her back. He then dashed forward with another strike aimed at Yang's unprotected side. But by now, she had a method of turning such a weakness to her advantage, a s the punch aimed at a side with mostly nothing put the Saiyan off balance and left him vulnerable on the opposite side if his torso. Like some martial arts prophecy, Yang's fist found its mark in Vegeta's stomach, and now that she was prepared for it, Yang managed to weather the subsequent hay-maker that had knocked her out the last few attempts. She still got the breath knocked out of her and fell hard to the floor but staying conscious was certainly a step. Even Vegeta seemed to be impressed, if allowing Yang, a moment to get up was any indication.

She got up quickly and got back on guard, expecting more, but found Vegeta staring into space again. When he said and did nothing for almost a minute, Yang started to fear that he was going senile. she cleared her throat, and this drew the Saiyan's attention.

"Hey, are we fighting or what?" Yang said, surprised at her own impatience. Vegeta looked hard at her for a moment, and then his face broke into the first genuine smile that Yang had seen since they had entered the time chamber together. Yang felt taken aback at the sudden warm expression. "Uh...or are we done?"

"Yes...I think so."

"Uh...what?"

Vegeta folded his arms and continued to smile at the huntress' perplexed expression. With slight hesitation, Yang lowered her arm and straightened up slightly.

"I decided some time ago that your training would be lesser due to your human limitations. But the chamber has strengthened that weak body, and your energy has increased as well."

Yang thought back to the many times that Vegeta had hit her and how the shock wrecked her body. "I guess it has...but I don't think I'm ready to deal with what's difficult for you?" Vegeta laughed at this, and some of the spite from the training session slipped back into his mannerisms.

"Of course not!" he said. "Not as you are. But if you had Saiyan biology..."A short silence followed these words and the two warriors looked at each other, one face wrapped and committed, the other creased and uncertain.

The silence stretched on for a bit too long as Yang looked at Vegeta's arms and almost child-like sense of enthusiasm, in a state of utter incomprehension. She looked from the wide smile to her own single hand and could not begin to see what the old fart was on about.

"But I'm not a Saiyan! I can't take the kind of punishment you can. I have human biology!"

Yang had expected this statement to wipe the grin from Vegeta's face, but it only broadened in the face of such a problem.

"That little magic you do when you get hurt is Saiyan biology. Saiyan's take pain and convert it into strength, as you do."

Suddenly it clicked, and Yang knew what Vegeta was talking about. If her semblance multiplied her strength by the amount of damage she took, then remaining in that state longer would make her stronger. But she could still see flaws in this plan.

"But my time with the power wasn't the problem last time. I lost my arm because my aura wasn't strong enough."

Yang thought this was a good point, but Vegeta brushed the thought aside impatiently. Whatever he had planned, he was clearly eager to get started. Without warning he was behind Yang, and a brick hard knee struck her lower back. By now her muscles could take punishment, but that only helped Yang remain on her feet, she still slid forward a few inches and felt a horrid stab of pain. At the same time, Yang felt that familiar warmth in her neck, and that tingling in her head that set her teeth on edge. In an instant she was turned around and swinging at Vegeta, and her fist was caught effortlessly. She was not however, thrown away to await a counter attack. Vegeta was holding her fist tight and looking intently at the huntress.

"Hold it."

"What?!"

"Hold it!"

The Saiyan's meaning was taken by Yang just as the power of her semblance left her, with an audible snap due to the lack of physical punishment. Seeing that Yang had regressed, Vegeta pushed her away and allowed her to fall to the chamber floor. That look of analysis was still stretching the wrinkled features.

"As I thought. You can't hold that form for long, and using it now wastes too much energy. What we need to do is work out your semblance so that it feels natural for you to remain in your powered-up state."

The red still fading from her eyes, Yang began to get back to her feet. Through the wave of rage, she had heard him, and she was having a moment of clarity. This was the answer, to become one with her semblance. By staying in that state all the time, her body would become accustomed to the heightened sense of power and speed. It would also pretty much make the amount of strength that she could receive from her semblance infinite. That kind of power would make her a force to be reckoned with, but it would take serious work, a lot of pressure on her muscles and semblance, the kind of training that would require...a lot of...physical damage...

Yang's eyes widened with fear as they rose to meet the black ones glittering with malicious excitement. Vegeta was on guard again, and the smile was now wide and predatory with anticipation.

"I think we're finally done with the human stuff...welcome to Vegeta's Saiyan boot camp!"

* * *

 **150**

"Focus, here it comes!"

Yang had only a second to react to the beam of light that shot from Vegeta's hand, not golden this time, but bright red. It travelled in a great circle around the pair of them, before it shot directly at Yang.

She stretched out her hand, exactly the way she had been shown, and braced herself. She remembered to clear her mind, and to make peace with the pain that was about to come. She opened her eyes with a moment so spare before impact. The red orb was upon her when Yang swung her arm diagonally upwards, connecting with the energy and smacking it.

It was not as clean as Yang had intended. The energy was not so easy to manipulate, it hung in the air for a few ling moments, pushing hard to get at Yang, but she held fact and mustered enough strength to force the energy to fly past her, although grazing her cheek with its departure. There was a small noise behind Yang in the distance and a shock wave that told her that the energy had hit the ground some way off in the distance. The huntress gave a great exhale and looked at her hand. She flinched at what she saw. The skin was burned and shiny, partially protected by her aura, but not to any significant avail.

"That was…not awful." Vegeta had appeared as if out of thin air in front of Yang. It made her jump, she had asked him to stop doing that, so naturally he had started doing it every time they trained at least once. "You channelled your energy to your hand to rival the energy wave that I sent. The problem arose from the fact that you couldn't divert everything because if you didn't, you would have been blown away by the attack. Correct?"

Yang nodded, still wincing as her hand began to heal itself. IT was happening a lot faster than she could remember it being able to and within a few short seconds, she was flexing a set of revived fingers. Yang placed her healed hand in the same position and anticipated Vegeta's next attack. He smiled sadistically.

"You're starting to understand. Very well, again!"

* * *

 **199**

Yang Xiao Long was bleeding. crouched behind the lookout, the huntress was clutching her shoulder, covering a spurting open wound. She gritted her teeth as she pressed her fingers harder to the red dyed patch of skin. Her aura would kick in after a few seconds of concentration, but Yang wondered if she even had that long. Her training had taken a turn for the worst over the last few months, and she now had the scars to prove it. The mark over her eye had been deepened several times, but Yang thought that wound was possessively adorable compared to what she was dealing with now. Vegeta's attitude seemed to have become less about training Yang and more about killing her. There were times when Yang started to doubt the old man's sanity when he was putting what looked like everything he had into trying to end Yang's life, only to invite her in for dinner about seven hours later. Their training had become semi non-stop. Vegeta would attack Yang for what seemed to be midnight to midnight.

Because of this, Yang had taken, not entirely voluntarily, to living like Vegeta, because this allowed her to take advantage of all the times that he took breaks. Granted the old Saiyan loved to work out, and rarely stopped to eat or sleep, Yang was always revealed to see the old man in rags or increasing shabbiness, walking slowly up those stone steps to eat or sleep.

Yang hated this training, but understood it, as Vegeta explained how Saiyan strength is linked to survival instinct and reacting to life or death situations. to this end, Vegeta had been treating their training sessions together as actual fights, and regarding Yang as a deadly threat. He was usually very convincing, knocking her down, throwing her across the plain, making very choice comments about Yang's mother (He of course being unaware that Yang thought her 'real' mother was a dead beat and a grade A bitch). The moments however, when he could have inflicted deadly damage on yang, she found that he was always a bit too slow or missed by a fraction of an inch to 'make a point'. He was clearly holding back some of his power to avoid killing Yang, which she found confusing since she was using a serious wound made by Vegeta.

She had been practising evasive action, something that she thought she needed to get the hang of along with the rest of her team, but Vegeta jumped the gun and tried to activate Yang's semblance again, even though she had made very little progress in making her powered up state feel natural. At best, she had extended the duration that she could remain in that form. But this was just an extension of the time she could use her current level of strength, as a furious Vegeta had explained over dinner one night. She had been avoiding Vegeta's strikes well enough, leading to her throwing herself over the top of the lookout and stopping in mid-air. Vegeta had taught Yang how to fly a few days after starting their real training, and she was finding the unidirectional travel extremely useful for out manoeuvring Vegeta. But as she had been surveying the Saiyan from above, a bright light flared up from the old man's right hand and a second later, Yang felt a fierce burning pain on the top of her right shoulder. The shock of the pain had knocked the blonde out of the air and onto the other side of the castle. She was hoping that she would have enough time to heal herself before Vegeta came swinging again and breathed a little easier when she heard no sound of foot falls from the other side of the house, and as the stinging pain beneath her hand began to weaken, she knew her aura was healing her.

Yang's shoulder was back to normal after a few moments' concentration, and she managed to shuffle into a crouching position, listening for any noises that would give away Vegeta's position. She listened for what felt like several minutes but heard nothing. She felt sceptical about the idea that Vegeta was gone or not fighting anymore, even though she badly wanted this session to end. Slowly, tentatively so as not to draw attention to herself, Yang moved around the side of the castle and edged along to the corner of the opposite side, then peered around it. She almost ducked back immediately, a s she spotted the Saiyan at once. She was standing in the same place that he had been when Yang had been hit by that weird light fire thing. He was doing that thing again, standing hunch backed and breathing heavily. What was different this time was that Vegeta stood facing Yang, and she could see what he was holding in his hand. The old Saiyan was standing with his hand clutching his chest, which was rising and falling as if powered by a piston.

Deflated, but no less suspicious, Yang moved slowly out from her hiding place and began to approach the old man. While the huntress moved with a purpose towards her target, she kept her guard half up, in case Vegeta abandoned his facade and charged her. She felt slightly bad for this though, because Vegeta fell to his knees once Yang was close enough to see the beads of sweat on his forehead.

"Hey!" Yang shouted as she ran over to the injured Saiyan and knelt beside him. He looked semi-conscious, his eyelids were drooping and the hand Vegeta had pressed to his heart was beginning to relax. He was having a heart attack. Yang began to Panic, she had never taken any classes about first aid and didn't know the first thing about stopping a heart attack. The only medical care she had ever seen was in movies and on TV, Yang had no experience doing it herself. She fumbled, one-handed at the Saiyan's wrist, attempting to check his pulse, but couldn't distinguish between the pale Saiyan's pulse and her own pounding heart.

Thinking's fast, Yang pushed Vegeta's hand out of the way, and began pressing down hard on the old man's chest, trying to get the heart going again. She didn't know if this was right, but she couldn't think of anything else. She could go and get Buu, but Vegeta might die before he could get here. But he looked half dead anyway, if there was any chance...

Just as Yang was considering making a dash for the time chamber door, she felt a sudden warmth in her fingers. Her hand, that had been as white as Vegeta's face mere moments before, had begun to emanate a golden light. exactly the shape of the hand that Yang knew so well by now, the strange light shuddered when looked upon, and began to writhe like fire. Yang felt something strange as she watched the strange fire, a sense of comfort, a sense... of self. It was as if her own aura was concentrated so intensely on that one spot that it was beginning to shine through her own skin. As Yang focused even harder on maintaining the concentrated aura, she felt its influence extend, as if the fire from her hand was seeping into the Saiyan's chest, reaching where Yang's hand alone could not. The huntress could feel her recovered aura, which had so easily healed her own wound, begin to wend its way into the now still chambers of Vegeta's heart.

Yang didn't know how she could feel it, but when her own Aura touched Vegeta's heart, it began to vanish inside him. The energy that was escaping her was being absorbed by Vegeta's system. Yang didn't know why she was doing it, or what it would achieve, but she also knew that if anything was going to heal her mentor, it was aura. But as this thought skipped through her mind like a battle instinct, keeping the aura alight on her hand started to become difficult. Yang had not been brimming with power even before now and she was running on empty. The light that had been so steady at first was beginning to sputter and fade.

Yang stared at it, as if to intimidate her own weakness and focused more intensely than she had ever done in her life on maintaining that light. The light flickered to a slightly larger size but began to shrink inn earnest after a mere moment. Yang started to panic again. She was going to fail, Vegeta was going to die and it would be her fault for being too weak to save him...just like she had been too weak to save Blake from-

"LIVE!"

yang had not willed the words to come, she had not meant to say anything. She was not thinking anymore, she had no other machination other than the still heart growing cold in that old man's chest. At her words, she had felt her soul flare, and the fire in her hand began to burn her hand.

"LIVE! YOU! UGLY! OLD! BASTARD!"

Yang screamed with all the voice she could muster, as she began to force her hand back down again, in a final attempt at CPR. With each press, Vegeta's entire body jolted as if being shocked with electricity, yet he did not move independently. Yang screwed her face up tight, tears in her eyes and fire in her chest, the huntress forced that fire right down into Vegeta's body, and this time, it did not fade. The flame became steady and circular upon Vegeta's chest and turned from yellow to blinding gold. With one final ground trembling jolt, the golden energy spread to every inch of the prone Saiyan's body, and finally, vanished from sight.

Yang crumpled, her aura expert, and her breath coming in slow gasps, she collapsed onto the body of her mentor. She knew it had not worked, that she had failed at a time where she had not had a choice to fail. Her mind and body were so full of despair and disappointment, her breathing so heavy and punctuated with sobs, that the huntress was unable to distinguish the pounding of her own heavy heart...with the steady pumping of arterial blood from within the old man's chest.

A gentle but firm hand pressed against Yang side, forcing her off the Saiyan. She was so exhausted that she thought this was just her own body failing again. It was only when she heard the clock strike twelve, and that gruff, intense, and oh so familiar voice, that Yang stopped breathing.

"...Who...Whose face...did you say was ugly?"

* * *

 **200**

"I feel fine!"

"I don't care."

"It was nothing, I can handle-"

"Not. Interested."

The loud voices reverberated throughout the white void, as sound does in the time chamber, like many people were speaking at once. The sight and sound of a young woman half carrying, half dragging a protesting old man was odd enough that, if the chamber had eyes, the dimension itself might frown in confusion. The cries of anger and indignation were not unheard by the woman, but they fell on ears deaf to all but what she had decided upon.

Vegeta was walking slowly, still hunched, with one arm trapped by another, the other bawled into a defiant foist. The arm dragging him was taught from resistance, by no less firm in its mission to not release the Saiyan's arm. Yang was walking ahead of Vegeta, her strides long and fast, her own back arched a little, not from pain or fatigue, but a kind of silent furious curiosity. A determination to without fail, achieve a certain goal.

"I don't need your help girl!" Vegeta raged. They had both reached the temple, and the Saiyan had finally gotten his hand free. Yang scoffed and sat down on the stone top step. The look in her eyes could not be mistaken. Vegeta knew what that piercing, needle eyed look meant. It was a look he had so often enjoyed from his late wife Bulma. She had been a human, but had exhibited Saiyan womanly traits much like Yang, it was partly the reason that he had…

"Sit." Yang commanded, with such finality that Vegeta's face went red. He did not take orders from children!

"Mind your tone girl, I had you on the ropes before I-"

"SIT DOWN!"

…

Vegeta blinked and looked down in disbelief. He had sat down at a human's request. A fiery dragon had forced him down onto the step below Yang. In the briefest of moments, Vegeta had felt the girl's energy spike, and something of the power he had once sensed from another sparked around her. That wall of golden energy that Nappa had used when they had conquered planets together. The girl had not moved, but the sudden force if the energy had been so immense, Vegeta had been shocked into a sitting position. Perhaps he was weakened by his heart, but still…for a human to humble a Saiyan…

"Tell me how long this has been a thing." Said Yang, her voice now significantly calmer and gentler, pointing at the old man's chest. Vegeta averted his eyes and did not reply. Some of the red still lingered in Yang's eyes as she spoke again.

"I'm not going to hit a guy with a heart condition." She said bluntly, and she got up and began to walk towards the door that led to the normal world.

"…Wait."

The voice was so small and inflected with such contempt that in any other space, it would have gone unheard. But in the chamber, all noises were amplified, and so Yang herd Vegeta's words and stopped walking. She turned to see him looking up, a defeated and slacken expression on his face. In the pits of Yang's anger with Vegeta, she felt a pang of guilt for threatening to leave, after promising to stay. She also wondered what he would do if his heart went again a and she was not there to prevent it. She wanted to smack him about a little for hurting her earlier, slap him for not telling her about this…but kill him? Or allow him to die through omission? No huntress could allow that. Instead, she walked back towards Vegeta, and sat cross-legged in front of him, waiting for him to continue.

"You remember…when we first met?" Vegeta muttered, still not looking into Yang's eyes. He saw her nod in his peripheral vision though. He sighed. "Well I was in that position…because of…" He pointed to his chest. "It happened as I was watching that army approaching my home. I had been…short with Kakarot and didn't feel that I could really face him by going back to help…" Vegeta paused for a second and slowly raised his gaze to the huntresses. Her eyes had now become normal again, and they were inflected with a sense of pity that made Vegeta's temper rise.

"And the shouts and the smoke just…set it off, I couldn't stop it! I felt a tingling in my arm and a pain through my heart, as though I had been run through with a spear. It was all I could do to stay airborne. Until that…woman…" Vegeta's voice quivered at the word and it was inflected with all the venom of a king saying the name of a peasant. "She came up behind me, stabbed me with something and took all my energy. I would have sensed her, I could have prevented it if not for! -"

"-SO." Said Yang, interrupting again. "You fell after that flying bitch stole your energy, and then me and Weiss found you. Why didn't you just tell us what happened then? I wouldn't have agreed to come in here with you if I had known you'd be at risk of dying in your sleep!"

Vegeta looked away again. He could not help himself, it was so humiliating getting scolded by a human that he could crush so easily. It would be so very easy to crush her, kill her and leave her to die in here. She would put up a small struggle, but nothing too bad, and her energy would be refreshing, a nice youthful- Vegeta came back to reality with a jolt and shook his head violently.

"We're done for today." Said Vegeta, standing up and walking towards the bedroom. "Eat, bathe, sleep, continue training, I don't really care."

Yang would have called out for him to stay, but she had gotten the information that she needed, and she had intended to tell Vegeta to rest after they were done talking anyway. Knowing him, she was grateful for how cooperative he had been about this whole thing. She laid her head back on the stone and gazed up into the void of the chamber. She felt exhausted, but more mentally than physically. Her tempo-master had turned out to be a man with a heart condition. Such a normal thing for an extraordinary old man to have to worry he hadn't been worrying, he had been exerting himself for her benefit. Well it would have to stop now. Yang knew that she would have to fight him on it, but her training would have to be solo from bow on. She had grown considerably stronger under Vegeta's guidance, so much so that she might be able to brave the chamber by herself from now to the end of their stay.

Yang forced her legs up over her head and pushed off the ground into a one-armed hand stand. She then began to slowly mover her own body up and down, training her arm. Doing this without flying had been hard before, especially with the increased gravity, but now it was getting almost too easy.

* * *

 **300**

Formless shapes, black movement on black, as if the very echoes of sight behind the closed eyes had minds of their own. But while the eyes could not see unless given means by the brain, the ears had quite an independent reign of their own. Vegeta could not prevent his own perception of life above him, though his eyes were shut. He knew he must have been unconscious for a time, because he was lying inside. Not in a patch of ice, but on a warm, soft compress. Vegeta did not know how this could be so, last thing he could remember he had been freezing to death. Vegeta wondered for a moment if he was dead, because if that was so, why was he so comfortable in hell?

"Come on, wake up already!" Came a severe voice from above the Saiyan's prone form. He felt his eyes twitch, blinking while they were still closed. He recognised the voice, but not the tone. Opening his eyes, a crack was painful, as the light beyond his eyelids was blinding and hot. He kept trying, and through the bright light, he could make out a vague human form. No facial features could be made out, but the wide shape of the hair was unmistakable. The golden light swept off Vegeta's eyes, and he could see the girls face. She did not look happy.

"You shouldn't be alive. You had hypothermia. I used my energy to burn it out of you, but it was a close one this time. How many times do I have to pull your ass out of there?!"

Vegeta felt himself shudder at the thought of being hunched in an icy wasteland, being dragged unconscious by a woman back to safety. Even the idea of being saved by Kakarot made his blood boil, but a human was…

Vegeta looked into the red eyes and considered the girl. She looked older, fiercer in her battle-scarred skin and clothing. The old man had just now taken in that this human had survived training in the harshest conditions of the hyperbolic time chamber and had still possessed enough power to heal him.

"You used your power to thaw?" he inquired, with an intense sort of detachment. The huntress nodded. "That was cunning, girl."

Yang didn't give any obvious signs that she had registered the compliment, she did not look at all tired or cold. She looked restless, as if eager to get back to something. "If you're alright, I really wanna try a few things with that cold thing."

Vegeta looked after Yang as she turned to go back outside. He could not help it, he had to know. "How?"

Yang paused at the door and turned on her heel to face the old man. She looked slightly less irritated, but still a bit impatient. Vegeta didn't wait for a response. "How can a human survive out there? That wasn't even part of your training."

The look of impatience vanished completely when Yang saw how confused Vegeta was. She crossed the room with surprising speed and placed a hand to his high forehead. "You…you don't remember do you?"

Yang explained to Vegeta, the periods where she had seen him seemingly awake, though lacking any tells of consciousness. She also explained how he had looked at her and the chamber with contempt in that state. When she finished, the Saiyan looked shocked, but trying not to show it.

"Has this kind of thing happened to you before, sleepwalking? Blackouts?" Vegeta shook his head. He saw the look of concern on the girls face and pushed her hand off.

"No, but I doubt its anything to worry about. So, I've been sleepwalking, what of it?"

"Vegeta…is this something to do with-" Yang started to reach for Vegeta's heart, but he pushed her hand away again.

"I'm more interested in how you're surviving in the chamber by yourself." Vegeta pressed on, in his usual growl. Yang tilted her head a little in confusion.

"How long do you think we've been in here?"

…

The question was left hanging in the air for a few seconds, before Vegeta snorted at it. He knew exactly how long they had been in the chamber. The girl was worrying about nothing, paranoid from training alone in here.

"Seven months, give or take a few days. Don't change the subject, my point is I don't see how-"

But Vegeta stopped talking when Yang straightened up, an alarmed glare weighing down on the Saiyan like a search light. She spoke slowly, as if the words themselves were beginning to scare her.

"Its…it's been nine months. I've been training alone for a while. You stopped coming out after that first…collapse. You still ate, I saw you…but that was it."

…

When Vegeta did not answer, Yang drew back slightly, in case he started getting angry. But the look on the old man's face was not of rage, but of dawning comprehension. He looked at every aspect of Yang that seemed alien and knew why she looked different, why she was now able to handle the chambers harsh conditions alone.

"So…you've been training alone. Been slacking off? You can't have been out in those conditions every night."

Yang shook her head and regained some of her irritable expression at Vegeta's tone. The Saiyan had laid his head back down on his pillow and had closed his eyes once again, keeping them closed as he talked.

"Of course, a human couldn't survive out there, and especially not a woman with just one arm."

" _For your information, I have been out there every day! I don't mind. I can take a little pain now, it's nothing!_ "

Vegeta opened one eye, and it met with a pair of fiery red ones. He smiled at what he saw. The child had her little magic activated, and he had not so much as scratched her. He sat up and cupped his left hand in his right. Vegeta couldn't fight the smile in his face, or the pride he felt towards the girl. While he was reluctant to admit it, she had surpassed all his expectations. He had very little left to teach her. Hell, the way she was talking, Vegeta wondered if this child couldn't show him a few things.

"I'm gonna get something to eat, I'm starving. You go and try that _thing_." Vegeta yawned as he made to walk to the kitchen, but an arm blocked his progress. He looked into the still red eyes with a challenging glint in his own eyes. " _What_?"

"You are going to take a shower before you do anything else. I didn't want to show discourtesy or be insensitive, but I could smell about two miles out there."

With that, Yang lowered her arm and turned away, walking back outside with a smile on her face at the look of outrage on Vegeta's face. But she collapsed into silent giggles when she heard him shuffling off to the shower, whilst muttering about various 'sensitive' places Yang could stick her 'Discourtesy'.

* * *

 **364**

While Vegeta enjoyed the Hyperbolic time chamber, and respected it for the training it provided, he was quite anxious to leave. He would have felt differently in his youth and in his solitude, but both his heart and his student were proving an annoying obstacle to his training. Yang was flat out refusing to train with him now, and she was strong enough now that Vegeta forcing her to spar was not exactly an option. Because of this, his only option was to train at night, but he would either meet the stupid girl who would scowl at him until he just stopped out of annoyance, or the weather would make the wound throb ominously and he suddenly would feel a strange urge to back away.

All of this was cutting significantly into Vegeta's training, and he could feel his strength sipping. He satisfied his itch to train by doing push ups and sit ups in his room, but this strategy left him feeling drained and exhausted, mostly because he couldn't rely on adrenaline like he could when fighting. But Vegeta was no fool, he knew that Saiyan that lived to his age were still far more formidable tan this, under even harder conditions. He was not this weak, and there was no way he would ever be outstripped by a human in his normal state. Vegeta viewed the last day in this blasted chamber cheerfully, although some of the worry about his strength must have shown on his face, because the girl did something strange. She spoke at dinner.

"Hey, bet I can beat your old ass now."

Vegeta stopped eating. Lowering the pork from his mouth, his dark eyes flitted up to look at the girl sitting at the other end of the table. Yang was sitting forward on her chair, over an empty plate, with a cocky, mocking smile under her scarlet eyes. He returned the look.

"Big talk coming from an amputee. Not that it would even make a difference. I could pound you into a pulp even if you had four arms." Vegeta gave a small cynical laugh as he finished talking and went to continue eating, but Yang spoke again.

"You and I both know that I'm stronger now, and let's be honest, do you really think that fragile old body could even hold out against me at this point? Maybe it would just collapse the moment it stepped out in the cold?"

There was a short silent, and then, with a small sigh, Vegeta put down his fork. He looked up again, and this time there was no trace of levity on his face. He was wearing that ugly look that he usually wore when looking at Goku.

"You think that's wise, girl? Calling me weak? Challenging a pure blooded Saiyan's pride? In the past…such words have led to fights to the _death_."

The gruff voice was not as plosive as usual, instead it was low, menacing, and murderous. Yang smiled on, completely undeterred. Vegeta's front of anger was not scaring her at all, it was bracing her on. She looked now more like a Saiyan that she ever had, invigorated by the prospect of a fight with an impossibly strong foe. He smiled in spite of himself, and the illusion broke. Yang's own smile became kinder, but no less excited. Vegeta rose from his seat and wolfed down what remained of his food in what seemed like Nano seconds.

"Alright, you're on. You can test your power against mine. Let's just hope that I don't accidentally destroy you."

Yang smiled brightly and left the dining room with a spring in her step that Vegeta had never seen before. The Saiyan watched her go and felt something like excitement himself. He was obviously not going to kill the girl; how would he explain that to the short one? Anyway, he could not wait to see the look on Kakarot's face when he saw how strong the girl had become. Once this whole thing was over, he may even be convinced to train again. Thoughts for later though, Vegeta thought as he made to leave the room and follow Yang.

" _Gh_!"

Vegeta stumbled and grabbed the edge of the table to steady himself, gripping his head with the other. The Saiyan began gasping and spluttering, He felt his whole body shudder with unendurable pain. His throat closed, his muscles ceased up, he could not muster any sound loud enough to alert Yang, he couldn't even make his body breathe. His head felt like something rabid and panicking was clawing inside, trying to get out, and his heart was throbbing horribly. Vegeta lurched as his hand slipped and he fell to his knees. Being in such pain and confusion had masked it so far, but now that he wasn't supporting his own weight, Vegeta felt it, a strange tugging in the back of his mind, a yearning that called to him for a place long forgotten. The old Saiyan felt his eyes widen and an icy fear gripped his stomach…He knew that feeling…he had felt it before…

Yang stood patiently on the infinite plain, waiting for Vegeta. She had not bothered to stretch, as she had done so before challenging Vegeta. She had known that the old man would not be able to resist putting her in her place. Yang felt strange, not being afraid of a fight, but excited at the prospect of testing her mettle, and all too soon, Vegeta emerged from the temple.

Yang put her guard up immediately, in case they started right away, but her tensed muscles faltered as soon as they were tensed. The old man looked strange, he was walking haphazardly, as if unsure of his own balance. For a second, Yang wondered if he was about to have another bout of cardiac arrest, until she saw him ignite.

The shock wave hit Yang and she faltered for a second but did not fall. A silvery light had enveloped Vegeta like clear burning fire. Despite the show of power, Vegeta kept his head drooped. Yang was confused, was this just another attempt to wrong foot her? Surely the old man didn't seriously intend to use that level of power against her? But before her widening eyes, A scarlet orb of energy formed in Vegeta's limp had that tensed and fired in a lightning fast motion almost too fast to follow. Yang felt that tug of instinct, and knew it was 'move' or 'die'. She chose to move.

By taking to the air, she drew the beam of light up into the sky after her. It was then a matter of cutting the ignition and falling back to the earth faster that the beam could follow her. This did the trick as the beam hit the ground win its attempt to follow the huntress, and it exploded on impact. She didn't have time to recover though, as Vegeta's fist was colliding with her cheek almost the moment that she touched down. Yang expected her body to crumple from the force of impact, but she instead felt a small pain and found her own fist pressing into Vegeta's chest. They both stumbled away from each other.

Yang got a good look at the Saiyan and realised that he was serious. His eyes were focused, and his fists were clenched. In the depths of the black eyes, Yang thought she saw something odd, but she dismissed this. Wiping sweat from her upper lip, that competitive smile spread her features once more.

"Ready when you are, old timer."

Yang did feel slightly guilty for going for Vegeta's chest, feeling that it was unsporting to aim for the old man's heart. One the other hand, Vegeta didn't seem to be hurting from it, and looked like he wouldn't be showing a mercy anyways. The Saiyan cracked his knuckles and crouched down, preparing to charge. Yang did the same, getting ready to parry the force. But Then Vegeta vanished, and Yang heartbeat quickened, she had never learned how to counter this! Trusting her instincts, the huntress thrust her guard upwards, and knew that she had guessed right, the barrage of punches she began to block were heavy and merciless, bearing down on Yang from the air. But Yang was used to this and knew what to do. Letting Vegeta get complacent and get a few hits in allowed her to grab his arm and flip him over onto the ground. He hit the void floor with surprising force, Yang had not realised how much strength she now commanded.

But the Saiyan also recovered quickly, levitating off the ground and coming back at Yang with a round house kick aimed at her neck. She threw herself back to dodge this, and suddenly she was on the back foot, dodging a series of fast attacks from the old man's fists and feet. She would have had no chance of evading these before, but now she was able to see them coming. She could not, however, fins an opening in Vegeta's guard to make a counter attack. After a few seconds of violent offence and dexterity, Yang decided to make one. Throwing all her aura into an iron clad guard, she summoned her semblance and felt the yellow light flood her body.

Vegeta reacted strangely, he kept swinging, but his strikes became weaker, they seemed to lose all momentum at the end and bounce off. The huntress did not notice this though, as she was not subject to it for very long, using her arm to shoe Vegeta's strikes aside and land a well-aimed headbutt on his nose. She felt a sharp pain as his knee met her midriff, but the damage was done. She jumped back to a safe distance to observe her opponent better. She was confused by Vegeta's behaviour. He was not gloating or insulting her. There was just cold fury and hatred on his face.

Suddenly Yang's whole body lurched. She felt something coming, she didn't know what it was, but it was powerful. Vegeta raised his hand and that same red light as before emerged from his bare skin. But this one contained way more than before, Yang could feel that. She was also conscious that the door back to the lookout was behind her, and that it might get damaged if this went down the way she thought it was going to.

Sensing the impact, the huntress moved quickly, Hovering over the ground, she circle strafed over to a safer trajectory s Vegeta let loose not one, but a dozen balls of light. The Saiyan's hands were a blur, firing of more orbs that yang could count. She had no way to counter such force. And as the tsunami of energy rained down upon her, Yang knew her only option was to run.

" _Hey_! _If-this-is-still part of the test, this-is kind of unfairly-one-sided_!"

The huntress couldn't circle strafe again because Vegeta might hit the temple, so she was forced to weave in and out of the vicious carpet bombing flying from the Saiyan. She was half blind from the light, but her ability to sense energy and move at high speed was managing it detect any on coming collisions. But once again, Yang found no way to counter such an attack. Vegeta was behind the wall of energy, and Yang could not brute force her way through. She could use her semblance, but that would tire her out, and she had a feeling that now was not the time to break out the big guns. She had to risk it.

Yang suddenly pulled up, flying straight at Vegeta. She did her best to weave in and out of the oncoming projectiles, knowing that quantity would subtract from their individual strength, and as she felt one of them bounce off her aura, Yang knew that's he was right. Her head collided with Vegeta again, and she felt his head jerk back with force. In the same moment, Yang felt thick fingers close around her throat. The next thing she knew, she was falling, flying towards the ground, with those fingers still crushing her wind pipe. Her vision was blurry, and her heart was pounding in her ears. Yang could only think of one thing to do.

A burst of energy over her body's surface area and a sharp expulsion of that energy in all directions. The moment the fingers loosened, the huntress kicked out behind her. She pelted away from Vegeta, who similarly flew in the opposite direction, slamming into the ground due to his own momentum. Yang skidded to the ground a few feet further away. She straightened up, rubbing her neck and frowning. She watched Vegeta get up and suddenly understood something.

"You _aren't_ kidding…are you? You really wanna _kill_ me."

Vegeta made to move again but stopped when a powerful pain overcame him. He began shouting and violently shaking his head, which he was clutching with both hands. In the depths of his mind, he could feel something, some great nothing clouding his thoughts. But Something was different, it was like he could feel something else too, a sense of detachment, of separation. In his mind's eye, he could see himself apart from what had taken hold of his body. It looked formless for a moment, and then solidified into a human form. Vegeta knew who it was in an instant, who else could it have been? The clothes were grey, and the eyes were blank, but Vegeta would always remember the way Kakarot looked when they had first met. The Doppelganger stared sightless back at Vegeta and smiled cruelly.

" **How did you get here? What are you**?" Vegeta felt this was the rational first question to ask and was not disappointed. When the creature spoke, it was not in Kakarot's voice, but in a high pitched, croaky voice that he had never heard before.

" **I live here, I was born here**. **I am every bit Vegeta as you are**."

" **You hardly look the part** " Vegeta sneered at the untidy hair and gee. " **Kakarot and I couldn't be more different**. **_Get out of my head_**! "

The creature's smile widened, and it turned to a strange sort of vision. A mirror through which Vegeta could see through his own eyes, the girl beyond, with her guard half up and a concerned expression on her face. " **Poor thing... she looks tired**. **She won't last much longer**. **Your power is amazing** , **and it will outlast any human**. **Once she is gone** , **I will take hold completely** , **and take your body for my mother**."

' _Mother_?' Vegeta remembered something, that bitch that stabbed him had left a mark, a mark that had blackened and not healed! He had been poisoned! Infected by some parasite! He gritted his teeth in anger as the thing continued.

" **I have scanned your mind in your dreams** , **when you have been at your weakest**. **I know all your techniques**. **One** …' ** _Garlic Gun_** ' **was it**? **And this girl will be ashes beneath my new feet**." The dark Kakarot looked pleased at Vegeta's obvious indignation. But instead of the tirade that he had intended, Vegeta thought of something else he wanted to know.

" **If you know all my techniques** , **why not just become a super Saiya** … **oh** …" Vegeta stopped talking, and a triumphant smile spread his pale face as he started to laugh. "… **I get it** , **that's _rich_**! **You're too afraid to use it**! **You know that my heart can't handle the strain**! **The little monster is too _scared_ to fight**!"

The faux Kakarot's smile vanished, to be replaced with a scowl. His blank gaze twisted to look at the huntress in the mirror. " **It doesn't matter**. **I have gathered enough information on your little friend, so can kill her without touching that** … **particular brand of aura** -"

" **SO THAT'S WHAT YOU WERE TRYING TO DO**!" Vegeta was screaming with laughter, pointing at the creature with amusement plastered over every inch of his old features. " **You were trying to sneak outside while I was asleep to glimpse the girl's power**! **But you didn't account for the chamber's extreme temperatures**! **HA**! **Some master mind you turned out to be**!"

" ** _ENOUGH_**!"

The creature roared and that tug again, the inability to control his own could only watch as his own hands were raised in front of him, and were brought together, the back of one hand resting in the palm of the other.

Yang put her focus up again, as she saw Vegeta move, cupping his hands together awkwardly. She didn't know what he was doing until she felt the energy surge in the Saiyan's hands.

' _No_ ' She thought desperately to herself, 'He wouldn't, I _can't_ block that much!'

But Yang watched in a horrified kind of awe as Vegeta's whole body was drenched in purple energy, and as he leaned back, Yang knew that he wasn't bluffing, he was going all out on this next attack, and there was no evading it. There was no chance of her blocking that attack either. So that left one option. She would have to challenge it. Placing her own hand in front of her body, the huntress concentrated hard to summon all the aura that she could find to that one point on her hand. She could feel it burning as the energy formed into a ball. But the one forming in Vegeta's hands was much larger and was still growing.

" **How sad** , **she's _actually_ going to fight**." The Voice in Vegeta's ear mocked, but Vegeta did not reply. He was concentrating every fibre of his mind on Yang, trying to communicate to her telepathically. But his mind was being kept cloudy by that parasitic bastard. He knew what he had to do, but he needed Yang to challenge his Galick Gun, or it wouldn't work. But he watched in horror, as the girl began to falter, lowering her hand, a defeated look in her eye.

" _ **WEAKLING**_!"

Yang looked up, alarmed to hear Vegeta's voice, she half expected him to lower his guard and call the whole thing off as a prank. But no, he was still charging his wave and looking deadlier than ever.

"V-Vegeta?" she stammered out, looking in all directions. "Where are you, what's going on?"

" **There's no time**! **My body is contaminated by a parasite** , **that cinder _whore_ must have given it to me**! **Listen to me, what's the matter with you**?! **Lowering your guard in the face of the enemy** , **where is your Saiyan pride**?!"

"I've already told you, I'm not a Saiyan, I'm a human! I can't face that kind of energy, I'm not strong enough! Sure I've gotten tougher, but this is just out of my depth."

" **NONSENSE**! **You are a Saiyan if I say you are, and I've felt the strength you possess**! **Where is that fire I saw when we first met**!? **Was your humanity dead weight then**?! **Now raise your head and fire the toughest attack you can**! **When I give the word** … **unleash your pride**."

Yang swallowed, shook her head, and raised her hand. Vegeta was right, even if it looked hopeless, she was not going out like a civilian. As the huntress refocused her energy, she reflected on the Saiyan's words, and thought there was something weird about the way he had said 'pride.' She also remembered what was going through her mind when she had vaulted over that fire in the woods. She had just been thinking about Ruby, about finding her…and saving her. The orb began to swell in size, until it was twice the size it was before.

" **That's good** , **Yang** … **this thing is weak to heat** , **so keep it up**." Vegeta's voice sounded horse, as if he was panting. " **Remember** , **_when_ I give the word**. "

"Okay." Said yang, with the passion for challenge back in her voice and heart.

" **Oh** … **one more thing**. **When you see that clown...** **tell him** … **tell him I'm _sorry_**."

…

"WHAT?!"

" ** _Galick Gun_** ~!"

The voice came from the real Vegeta, across from Yang, and the purple light was flashing bright silver. The huntress raised her own hand above her head and braced herself. It was time to leave her old self behind. It was time to ascend.

" ** _MASENKO_** ~!"

The light swelled in Yang's hand as she thought of everyone outside the time chamber, of Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Dad, Qrow…and her mother.

" ** _FIIIIIIIIIIREEEE_**!"

Suddenly Yang's vision was obscured completely by white light. But she didn't falter. Instead, she cried out to the whole chamber.

" ** _HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA_**!"

Yang's whole body shook with the force of what left her, as a golden torrent of light shot from her hand and collided with Vegeta's. They both stood, facing each other in the time chamber, their eyes as locked as their attacks.

It was the oddest sensation Yang had ever experienced. She could see both of their light, but through it all, she could still make out Vegeta. A thin silhouette could still be made out amidst the silver and purple light. She only had a second to see this though, as the struggle began a moment later. It was agony, trying to keep something that was not her own body strong against something so massive. The purple light was bearing down upon her, she was losing, and it hurt so much…it…it hurt…it…hurt. Yang felt her heart swell, as she finally understood what she had to do.

" **A valiant effort** , **but she is outgunned**. **I don't know what you said to her but looks like it was wasted**." The creature was only half focusing on Vegeta now. It seemed to be concentrating on controlling the attack. Vegeta's face was blank, but his heart too was swelling that the girl was causing the creature discomfort.

" **You and your ilk don't like light or extreme temperatures**. **That's why you couldn't spy on the girl** , **and that's why I was able to talk to her**. **One big blast of super Saiyan energy** , **and you're history**."

" **You wouldn't _dare_** , **your heart would give out** , **and you would _die_**!" Said the parasite, not looking up.

There was a short silence. When Vegeta spoke, it was resolute, and tough. " **What makes you think I have a problem with that**?"

The fake Kakarot froze, still looking at the mirror, but sweating for a different reason now. It could see a yellow glow in its peripheral vision. It understood.

" **Y-You're bluffing**!" the creature began to shout, starting to panic as the golden light grew. " **You wouldn't die to a human** , **you're a Saiyan** , **yo-** "

" **I AM _VEGETA_**! **The prince of all Saiyan's**! **Not some _puppet_** , **on a pathetic dark spawns' _string's_**! **I have ended _worlds_**! **I have faced demons**! **I am the master of my own fate** , **ruler of this body** , _**and** **unlike you**_ … ** _I_ have the guts to _prove_ it**."

The creature allowed itself a glimpse of what the Saiyan was up to, and almost dropped its guard. Vegeta was standing upright, his aura palpable around him, his fist raised in front of him. He had a curious expression on his face, a mixture of sadness, and satisfaction.

" **Goodbye** , **Yang Xiao Long** … ** _NOW_**!" Vegeta's hair erupted into gold as he barked the final word to Yang, who couldn't have held on for another moment anyway. The two warriors, as if fate had determined it, shouted their attacks at the exact same time. Yang threw all her strength into her semblance and unleashed the damage she had taken from the battle. Only she had taken a page from Vegeta's book, she had named her semblance.

" ** _FORBIDDEN SUN_**!" Cried the huntress, and everything was on fire.

" ** _FINAL SHINE!_** " Cried the prince, and everything was violent, staggering golden light.

Yang could not see for cold burning flames, her attack her body, everything was fire. She could not see Vegeta anymore amidst the storm of hungry devouring flames, matching Vegeta's own attack. It swallowed the purple light and crashed around it, turning the chamber into a blazing hellish landscape.

Vegeta opened his eyes, felt the pain in his chest as his hands fell to his sides, as the hellfire swept over him like the wings of a phoenix. He stared into the abyss and did not blink.

"Goodbye…"

" _ **...Kakarot...**_ "

* * *

365

Yang stood ready at the door, waiting for the chime of the bell that would tell her when a year had elapsed. There had been no trace of Vegeta to recover, so the huntress considered waiting out the year to be her act of remembrance. She had still not absorbed fully what had happened, and she was thankful for this, because she did not know what awaited her on the other side of this door. At last the bell chimed, and the door swung open automatically. In an instant Yang could feel it all, Ruby and Blake's low aura, Goku's pain and panic, and-

'Weiss is almost gone! Shit! I'm coming Ice Queen, just hang in there!'

Yang made to sprint out the door, but realised she had forgotten something, running back to the dresser draw, she recovered the blackened remains of her Ember Celica, which had been broken on day 2 by...

She pocketed it, and found herself facing the void of the chamber. The silence was maddening, who could have really stayed in here alone for a year? Such strength, such tenacity...such stubbornness. Yang smiled, clenched her fist and made for the door, only turning to say, perhaps to the room, the chamber, or the memory of the mentor she was leaving in there, "Thank you...and _goodbye_..."

The door closed, and the Hyperbolic time chamber was once again, silent.


	20. Season 2: Dead legends

**A small remote town on the outskirts of Veil…**

The soft evening breeze ruffled the loose reddening leaves stirring in the trees, as the little cluster of houses quivered in fear. Even though the little community was about two miles away from the walls of Veil, the sounds and signs of conflict could still be sensed by the terrified towns folk. They were some of the lucky ones who lived in an area clear of advancing creatures of grimm and white fang soldiers. The little wooden houses had their shutters tightly closed and their doors locked. This turned out to be highly convenient, as a moment before the first leaves of Autumn started to fall, a bright pink portly man popped into existence from nowhere.

The strange man looked around at the houses with an expression of benign interest, as he often did when in an unfamiliar place. He had pudgy pink skin that wobbled under his wide mouth, that lolled open like a child's. The man wore a pair of baggy white pants and waist coat, with two emblems embedded on them both, one a spiky black 'M', the other a bright red 'G'. With his stumpy little purple cape, Yellow gloves and boots, and the strange tentacle like appendage dangling from his fat head, it was a miracle that nobody had seen him coming a mile away. He peered through the semi darkness with small squinty eyes.

"Popo!"

The high-pitched noise echoed in the surrounding trees and faded without a reply. The pink features taughtened as they gazed into the distant town, at the smoke and obvious flames mounting the high wall of Veil. In the depth of that panic, he could make out a shape, a source of energy that felt familiar…

"Buu coming Popo…" Whispered the giant, and the giant vanished with a swish of a purple cape.

Buu reappeared in a shady alleyway, that he estimated to be a few minutes away from where Mr. Popo was. It had been hard to follow it seemed to be getting smaller. The pink giant made to step out onto the street when he suddenly jumped back. A scream of a woman followed by a savage roar made Buu pause. He could hear people running around and shouting, scared of all the monsters. He considered his form for a moment and looked down at his oversized belly.

"People scared…" Buu thought to himself. "If Buu go, they get more scared."

The guardian of the earth stood with his arms folded for a few long moments, thinking. He had to go and get Popo, because that is what Goku said to do, but if he did, the people might get even more scared by him and get hurt. Buu's lip quivered as he struggled to think, a bead of sweat on his pink brow.

But suddenly, Buu jumped in the air and let out a cry of joy, he knew what he had to do, he had been shown how by Popo, one of his new tricks. He would change his form to something else, he would look like a human. That way the people wouldn't be able to tell it was him. Buu didn't even need to think on the subject any further, he knew who he wanted to look like. Raising his staff and making a small, high pitched noise at the back of his throat, Buu was engulfed in a cloud of white mist. When the mist faded, the giant pink man was gone. A considerably shorter man was standing in his place, with his black booted feet shoulder width apart. He wore the same sort of baggy white pants, but with a red V-neck shirt, partially hidden by the knot of a flowing white cape. The tanned, hairy skin looked completely different from the shiny pink of its origin, especially on the face and head, with the frizzy black hair and handlebar moustache. Buu placed his big fists on his waist and beamed. He jumped out of the alley and declared to the panicking street, thrusting his fist in the air in a gesture of triumph.

" MR SATAAAAAAAAAN!"

…

The screaming and sounds of metal clangs and falling debris continued around the guardian, the world had taken zero notice of his entrance. Not losing his composure, Buu straightened up, and felt around for any sign of Popo. It was even harder in here, the human and monster ratio being in constant flux meant both light and dark energy levels in Veil kept rising and falling, it was the equivalent of radio interference. The faux Mr. Satan closed his eyes and willed the image to clear, and slowly, very slowly, the shapes began to solidify.

A tall man of higher than average power…not Popo. A thin girl with human energy, but energy that felt a little different from the other humans Buu sensed all around. This energy was scented with jealousy and obsession, not Popo. A short, fat form, with higher than average energy, with a hint of spiritual purity in the bowels of the soul…a purity that was fading. Opening his eyes with a flash of what looked like pink flames, Buu sprinted off in the direction of the fading signal.

"Where is it?!"

"Where is what?"

"Where did Ozpin hide it?!"

"Who is Ozpin?!"

Ilia, sweating with rage and exhaustion, screamed as she fired up her weapon again. The tall man holding Mr. Popo up in a full nelson that elevated him several feet off the ground, flinched when the body was shocked, but did not release the little man. The man in question was panting and smoking from the high voltage attacks and was no longer making any attempt to escape. How could he? The man holding him was so heavy, his thick arms were like tree trunks compared to his own. He did not remember humans being this strong.

"I'll ask you…one more time." Ilia stammered out, panting slightly. Using her weapon at this intensity was affecting her as well, but it had not worked to use any lower level of shock. The attacks had merely startled this funny looking guy. She had her mask on at a strange angle and her normally neat and smoothly curling pony tail had strands of hair coming out. She looked quite alarming in this state. "Where is the relic?"

Popo slowly raised his head. His eyes were unfocused, and his turban was dirty and unravelling. His mouth was open, but his breathing was so faint that it was barely audible for the girl mere inches away. He did not answer, for he had no answer to give. He had simply been trying to assist a family escape from a burning building, when he had been attacked by these two. His original intent was to pick up a few spices that he had wanted to try but felt the need to help when he saw the store engulfed in the fires of arson. Though the family had thanked him and escaped, he was somewhat regretting his kindness now that he was being tortured for information that he did not have.

Fortunately, a candy store to the company's left exploded at that very moment.

The colossal dust cloud and bang like a shotgun made Ilia jump out of her skin, falling out of her interrogative persona, in favour of her usual nervous disposition. Averting her eyes from where the short man had been, safe in the knowledge that Hazal would not have released him and turned to face the ruined building. A tall silhouette stood in the wreckage, with what seemed to be a mushroom where its head should be.

As the smoke began to clear, she saw that he was holding something in his hairy arms. A prone boy, unconscious by the look of it. But the shape shifted, and seemed to vibrate for a moment, and the boy was gone. Ilia couldn't see where he went and did not understand why he was gone. But now she had a good measure of this man and decided that the boy was of little importance at present. She thought that he looked like a pretty shady back alley dust salesman, with his hairy chest and handlebar moustache. He looked with his confident smile from her to Hazal standing sedately behind her, and-

"POPO!"

The mans smile had vanished and his expression became darker, when his eyes fell on the short man in Hazal's arms. Nobody said anything, they were in shock. After all, of all the people in the world, they had not expected this man to have a squeaky high-pitched voice. Popo looked up, opening the one eye that was unbruised. He couldn't understand how he could be here, because Popo knew that Hercule Satan was long dead, but he could not mistake that voice.

"G-Guardian?" He croaked out, barely moving his lips. "What are you doing here?"

"Goku say you come back. Big trouble." Said Buu, nodding his head vigorously.

"What's that?" Said Hazal, talking to the back of Popo's head. "Do you know this man?"-

"Big man put Popo down, now!"

Hazal turned his head back to the scruffy man before him, who was now pointing directly at him. There was something about his face that he didn't like. It was mean and pouty, almost childlike, but with the features of a grown, rather aged man. He addressed his companion. "Ilia, we don't have time for this, end him."

Nodding, Ilia reignited her weapon which sparked a poisonous blue, and turned it on the man, who looked at it with complete indifference. But Popo was anything but, he knew what could potentially happen here, from discussions had and agreements made long ago, with the previous guardian of the earth regarding Buu, and what measures to take against his more belligerent nature.

"Bu-I mean…Mr. Satan!" Yelled Popo, his voice now horse from panting so hard. "Make sure you use that extra strong technique you know!"

Buu looked over at Mr. Popo, smiled mischievously, and nodded. Ilia smirked. "Strong huh? Go ahead, get your weapon out. I know that's how you torched that store. What is it? Grenade launcher?"

"Granola?" Said Buu gormlessly, now looking intently at the Faunus. She shifted her stance slightly, was this guy trying to psych her out? Even so, she had a job to do and wasn't waiting anymore, Adam was in hot water, and if she failed…

The electricity was out without a second thought, it forked through the air like a bright yellow vine straight at Buu's face. The wide mouth spread to a size that could comfortably accommodate a car tire. There was a momentary flash of light within the tanned cheeks followed by a stunned silence, for Buu had swallowed the attack. Illia did not speak, she only stared at this freakish man who could blow up buildings and eat electricity, as he breathed out in satisfaction.

"Thanks, that was good. Buu's turn now." And without another word, the strange man sprinted straight at Illia, who barely had time to blink before he was upon her, with his fist held high.

"SATAN-PUNCH!"

Illia only saw a flash of pink before her cheek became inverted, and she was on her back leg, flying towards the wall of an abandoned clothing store. The smash she expected in the back of her mind didn't come. The wall crunched but did not fall. Beneath her mask, askew upon the freckled features once again, Illia tried to home in on this impossible man with unfocused eyes. All the breath had been knocked out of her with a simple hard punch…what was this guy?

Buu took a cursory look at Illia, making sure that she was alive, but unable to fight, before turning back to Hazal. His features darkened at the fresh sight of Popo's scarred features, and of Hazals own stoic expression. There was a small silence where the two looked at each other, one with dislike, the other with total incomprehension. Hazal opened his wide mouth to speak, but Buu spoke first.

"You hurt Popo, that bad man, put down!"

Hazal closed his mouth. He knew there was no point, somehow it was obvious to him that any intelligent comments would be lost on this person. He instead decided to go the devious route, he raised one arm and wrapped it around Mr. Popo's neck, and with a little added pressure, Hazal began to choke him. "Leave now, or your friend dies."

Popo's limited vision was now completely obscured, as his windpipe was getting crushed by what felt like a mighty python's tail. The wide red mouth opened wide and began to splutter ominously. Buu looked horrified but did not move. Relaxing slightly at the impression he had made, Hazal tightened his grip. "I'm warning you. I don't want to hurt him, but if you come any closer, I will break his neck."

Buu had his teeth bared and his blue eyes were staring furiously ahead, towards the hulking faunus and his captive. He did not know if he could kill this man before he could kill Popo…unless…

Buu relaxed his taught features, and standing up straight, he put his finger to his mouth as if he were a child deep in thought. Popo had said to use his 'really strong' attacks, but he had always said that those attacks were...

Buu looked at his fist, and nodding silently to himself, looked back up at Hazal, who had not loosened his grip on Popo. The poor little man was starting to turn blue, Hazal knew that he would not last much longer. Obviously, he had no intention of killing an innocent man, it was possible that he really didn't know about the relic and was just passing through. He was hoping quite desperately that this weird man would play it safe and back off. But what he wasn't expecting was for the short black-haired man to start dancing. So, imagine Hazals surprise when that's exactly what the little man started doing.

Hopping from one foot to the other with both hands on his hips, the little weirdo was prancing his way towards the struggling two, all while humming faintly to himself. His expression as a ridiculous combination of amusement and air-headedness. Hazal found the whole prospect so absurd, he momentarily loosened his grip on the short man's neck. He jumped and readjusted his grip when he heard a gulp of air being taken somewhere around his chest. He then looked back up with mingled anger and panic at the advancing menace.

"Stay back!" shouted Hazal, flexing his arm to show how tight the strangle hold he had on Popo was. But Buu kept up his staggered but steady approach, hopping back and forth, humming that sinister tune. Hazal was starting to sweat, his bluff was being called. He knew he was strong, but he also thought Illia was tough for her size, and she had just been laid out by a single punch. He couldn't really gauge how strong this guy was. The short man was now about three hops from Hazal and Popo, and on these final steps, he declared four statements to the night.

Hop…

"MISTER!"

Hop…

"SATAN'S!"

Hop…

"MEGA-TON!"

Hazal swallowed and blinked, expecting to see a fist when he opened his eyes. But instead he saw nothing, for the man had vanished into thin air. He scanned the rubble before him, to the skies above, but no sign of the guy. Hazal turned his confused gaze over towards Illia, who had managed to get to her feet, and likewise had a look of surprise on her face.

"Did you see…?" Hazal began to inquire, but stopped at the sound of a single word, whispered quite suddenly from directly behind him.

"Punch."

A small noise, followed by a sharp wrap on the back of the head. The thick arms slackened and allowed Popo to fall coughing and gasping to the floor. He crawled quickly out of the way, as moments later, the hulking Hazal toppled unconscious to the floor, with a mighty crash.

Illia let out a muffled scream behind her hands as she looked upon the prone body of her last line of defence. The short men took no notice of her as one helped the other to his feet. They didn't even look around when she yelped at the short man with black hair turning into a…a…

Buu, now back to his natural portly form, looked down on Popo with a look that mingled sadness and concern. Popo was defiantly alive, but he looked wounded and very shaken. The guardian leaned forward so that Popo could hear him better when he spoke quietly.

"Popo say strong attack, Popo mean weak attack. Nobody go dead. I do good?" Buu said in a low voice. Popo raise his head and made a brave attempt at a smile, but found his lip just wobbled a bit.

"Very good Guardian…v-very good."

The pink features split into a wide smile, and Buu grabbed Mr. Popo by the arms, lifting him into a standing position. The little man fruitlessly attempted to dust himself down, but his Baggy white pants were still ripped and dirty. He would need to wash them at least five times to repair this kind of damage. He would get started once they got back to the lookout…

"G-Guardian! Why are you down here?! What did Goku need?!"

Buu looked down at Popo, and he saw that he was again holding that prone youth in his pink arm. There wasn't anything familiar or distinct about this child. He looked unconscious, his thick dark-brown hair casting a shadow over his face. The smile was gone, and Buu's face was stricken, business like, a funny fit for the warped, minimalist features.

"Home. Heal you. Popo ask Goku."

With that, Buu extended his hand for Mr. Popo to grab. He wasn't exactly sure why the guardian of the Earth was choosing to bring a boy back to the lookout, but this would have to be a question for later, as Popo's voice was drowned out by a feminine cry of effort. Looking about, he saw the woman who had been his torturer pouncing for the three of them. Her mask had fallen away, and her eyes were savagely set on…the boy. She grabbed the young man's wrist and clawed to get her hands on a strange object tucked into his belt. But before she could lay a finger on it, or anybody else could on her, Buu had transported them.

* * *

Team RWBY was enjoying a silent reunion. Sitting on the steps of the lookout in silence, they stared out into the endless sky. Blake had her eyes averted from anything else on that castle that had a pulse, as did Yang. The Blonde huntress was compulsively clenching and unclenching her callused fist, and Blake seemed to be shaking. Weiss was staring straight ahead, both hands still over her mouth. Ruby was the only one there who was not showing her discomfort so obviously, but her head was spinning none the less.

 **The moment Yang had explained what had happened in the time chamber, when Goku learned what happened to Vegeta…about his heart…something about him changed. The sky above, that had been clear as a summers day had grown dark and stormy. Something in the old mans eyes seemed to go out, leaving empty black irises. At the same time, there had been a chill in the air, not a natural breeze given their height, but a deep unspoken dread that seeped from the Saiyan like poisonous fog. His cold eyes fixed on Yang's, his teeth half bared, he had grabbed hold of her arm, and her throat.**

 **The rest of team RWBY's first instinct was to assist her, but the power emanating from Goku kept them in line, such was its intensity. It did not command them to be silent however, and the three girls had begun shouting immediately. Blake yelled that Goku should not take this out on Yang, as she was not responsible for what had happened. Weiss bellowed the outrage that he would lay hands on someone with a missing arm, despite all this. Ruby had gone the more simplistic route, not bothering to come up with an argument, and just threatening to fuse with Blake again and slice Goku's face off if he didn't let Yang go.**

 **It appeared that it was Blakes words that reached the crazy old man, and Goku released Yang, whom had not said a word since she had been grabbed. He had turned on his heel, without saying anything that might have been an apology. Instead it sounded like he was muttering to himself, almost feverishly. He seemed to be trying to convince himself of something. Ruby was the only one who did not rush forward to help Yang, although she needed no help, she was up immediately and staring disbelievingly at Goku. Ruby thought she heard a single word before Goku disappeared, and before the dread and dark sky vanished with him.**

 **" _Kai_."**

* * *

"I still can't believe he did that to you…" Blake murmured in Yang's direction. There were still red marks where she and the Saiyan had touched, his energy had left burn marks. "It wasn't even your fault."

"Exactly!" Weiss piped up, indignation freeing her suddenly from her shock. "Those odds were ridiculous, any of us would have been killed. You're lucky to be alive."

"He was…he was right to be angry." Yang spoke as if to herself, not her team. "He was stronger than me…stronger than any of us. He should be here. I should be dead."

"Don't say that!" and Yang looked up, surprised that Weiss had said something before her own sister. "I had to do the unthinkable to get you here. I didn't drag you out of Veil for you to give up now. I mean look at you! You're easily a hundred times stronger than you were before that arm was cut off."

Yang looked at the heiress, confused as to what she meant by 'unthinkable.' But then understanding began to dawn on her, and Yang remembered, as if from another life, trying to squeeze on a uniform one handed, that was at least three sizes too small in the chest. The two women looked at each other and smiled, smiled a smile that only a shared secret could make.

"I won't miss him anyway" scowled Blake. "Cranky asshole, good riddance."

Yang looked at Blake, and for a moment, it was as if Goku had returned. Though they were sitting, the cat Girl felt like Yang was towering over her, paralysed by the look in those blood red eyes.

"…Sorry." Blake said quickly, not looking at her.

"That's…alright." Said Yang pleasantly, with a hint of formality that made the statement sound quite cold. "At least this day can't get any weirder."

It took a few moments for the three of them to realise that Ruby had not said anything since Goku had left, and almost in unison, they turned to her. She looked a little hesitantly at them all, it was team leader time…she didn't like team leader time.

"What do you guys think he meant by Ka…"

A sudden burst of energy interrupted Ruby's thought, and the whole team got up to see who had arrived. Ruby shot forward with her semblance to see four silhouettes in the sun. The first was obvious, the large pink man in the centre of the island was unquestionably Buu. The shorter man had to be Popo, looking in a pretty bad way. The other two were strangers to Ruby, and this is what stopped her from approaching. One was a girl wearing a white fang uniform, and the other was…a kid. Ruby looked over the unconscious boy in Buu's arms, from his worn, dirty farm clothes, to the bandages around his neck to the…

Ruby stared, hardly daring to believe it. Attached to the little boy's belt, glistening in the sunlight, was a hilt. A hilt of a weapon that Ruby knew very well. As if the fates themselves had planned it, the boys eyes opened at that very moment. The silver eyes found a pair of narrow honey coloured ones, but there was something in the way that they pierced her…

"Hey Ruby, what's going on!" she heard someone call behind her but did not turn to see who. When she spoke, Ruby spoke in a voice tempered with both wonder and hesitance, as if this, just simply could not be.

"P-Professor…professor Ozpin?"

The eyes widened slightly, and Ruby saw her own shocked expression twice reflected, on the face and in the eyes of the young man.

"Miss…Rose?"

Ruby felt a presence behind her and knew the rest of her team had arrived. There was a very brief silence.

"Popo?" Said Yang

"A kid?" Said Weiss

"It's Ozpin" murmured Ruby

"What?"

"I am glad to see that you all made it out okay." Said the boy

"OZPIN!?" Exclaimed Weiss and Yang

"Illia?" Whispered Blake, in an voice of both awe and shock.

"Blake?" Whispered Illia in the same voice.

"BUUUUUUUUUU!" Barked Buu, smiling at his inclusion.

* * *

Hi everybody!

Apologies for the lateness of this concluding chapter for season 2. Several things beyond my control happened, and I also got sick. so you know.

Anyway, this story is going on a littke break, but is by no means over. Ive got some other ideas that id like to work on over the holidays, but ive still got so many cool ideas for this story. (I hope you guys are as excited for more fights as i am :)). Again, thank you for supporting this story. Next chapter should be some time in January.

Happy holidays x

John


	21. Prologue: Chamber's and secrets

_**Dark**_

The hall was usually dark, lit as it was by design in order to ensnare the attention of all who entered it. But with the small amount of light that usually permeated the long table extinguished, the form of the dark witch and her pet were both quite well camouflaged. They would be completely invisible if not for the small amount of dim red light that Seer produced with its crystal pedestal. The witch's fingers dug deep into either side of the beast, as those cold eyes gazed hungrily into it, soaking up what seemed to be very enrapturing information. She was so intent on gazing, she did not look up when the door to the hall suffered several knocks. After a short pause, the large black means of ingress swung aside to reveal the straight-backed posture and pompous disposition of Arthur Watts. He looked tired, his usually tidy hair drooping slightly, but he looked happier than last time. While his nature had driven him to enter without permission, his nerve would not carry him so far as to approach Salem without introduction. He cleared his throat loudly, Salem still did not look up to his surprise and private annoyance and so the scientist spoke, with as humble a voice he could muster for his triumphant giddiness.

"My lady. It's all done!"

The silence that followed these words slowly deflated the scientist, and he began to subtly regret not waiting to be summoned into the room. The witch was still observing something, but one of her hands had left the side of her beast and had started beckoning in Watts' direction. Not sure what he was in for, he obeyed. The walk seemed all the longer for the uncertainty, but when Watts found himself next to his mistress, it was only to find her with a look of true wonder on her pale face. Under her breath she kept muttering "All this time…all this time…"

"M-my lady?" Watts was relieved but still confused by Salem's reaction to what he had said, she hadn't given him the order that long ago, and he had only performed to her specifications. But perhaps it was what she had been observing in that nasty thing. The witch didn't react instantly, but slowly raised her head to face her other pet. Watts was taken aback, he had never seen his mistress so genuinely and utterly content. The veins on her face did practically nothing to soil the look of excitement on her face. She extended the same hand that had been calling him forward, and actually touched Watts' cheek. He was so shocked, he dared not turn away, but continued to look into those dark eyes.

"That is…wonderful news…you've done well doctor." Said the witch, in little more than a whisper. A true smile had spread her face and the fingers, cold as ice against his tanned skin, were retracted slowly. Watts didn't know whether to blush or get his cheek disinfected, so he just stood there. Salem took one last longing look at Seer before standing up, facing her servant.

"Get them ready. I have a test mission planned for them Watts, they're going on a scavenger hunt."

Watts raised his prominent eyebrows at this. "A…scavenger hunt, ma'am?"

"It'll all make perfect sense once I give you the data. But I need you to be ready to move in a few hours. Is that clear? "

Watts straightened up slightly and nodded formally. "Of course, your highness."

"Good, you may go."

With a final bow, Watts turned on his heel and headed for the door. He chanced a look back and saw his mistress once again in deep contemplation. Closing the door, Watts whipped out some antiseptic spray and cleaned off his face. What the devil had gotten into her? She must have known that none of the others had reported back, he had expected her to be furious. Whatever she had stumbled across in the mind of that old man must have been impressive. He sated his curiosity with the thought that he would find out soon enough and made to take the transport back to his lab. He didn't want to keep his pets waiting.

Back in the chamber, Salem stroked the edge of Seer's pedestal, A crease in her brow. These things took so long to make and held quite a bit of power. For one huntress to burn it so easily. She wondered if the Saiyan had trained them all to wield such strength, strength not unlike her own magic. All this time she had been fighting that idiot, thinking he was the only one,when there were other means to use sorcery. But that did not matter anymore, Salem had her eyes on something much juicier. An impossibility she had thought, that any magic other than hers could still exist on this world. A magic that would even the odds, even against them.

Even though she knew that the old prune could not hear hear or see her anymore, the witch looked intently at the image of that poor man, struggling to escape her beloved Seers many limbs. She spoke to the faux man in the same whisper as before. "You've impressed me Son Goku…but you've had your chance. You and your little friends will pay for what you did to my child, and my darling Cinder. You will regret ever hearing my name, and with this…" Salem drifted a loving finger over the edge of the now orange glowing crystal. "You just handed me the key to my true victory...and Ozpin's final failure. Now Seer…" And Salem leaned forward, boring into the crystal, her eyes wide with hunger. "Tell me more about what he called…"

" ** _Dragon Balls._** "

* * *

 _ **Light**_

The thin face twitched as the light burst forth from the opened door, which caused the chains binding him to clink mockingly. The slow footsteps informed the faunus that someone was approaching. The yellow eyes strained to open and perceived a dark for overhead, who was nursing one fist in the other hand. The room was still as bleak as ever, with its windowless walls, and hot air. It was so humid that it was impossible to even think about struggling.

"Whats…wrong? Finally decided to kill me?"

"No." Answered the voice. "I've just come to help."

"Help!? How could a worthless thing like you help me!?"

"I have come to help… refresh your memory." Finished the figure, with an ominous crack of the knuckles.

" _ **Lets start with the tail.**_ "


	22. Season 3: Remnants Past

The density of the rain and forked flashes of bright lightning made visibility in the sky incredibly poor. People stayed inside on days like these, even children who enjoyed playing in the rain withdrew, ushered indoors by their mothers, who feared the electric lightshow and heavy downpour. Shop-goers and business workers on mass decided to get the train or bus home in dread of walking in that vast seemingly unending storm. It is because of this, this highly fortunate but completely coincidental cover, that nobody noticed it. The smaller, faster, and by far brighter cloud moving in a straight line through the heavens, leaving a great yellow contrail in its wake.

Upon this speedy golden cloud sat two girls, and although it was raining, anyone could tell from one glace that whatever novelty this venture had once held, was long extinguished. The white-haired girl wearing a similarly coloured parka and combat skirt sat hugging her knees shivering while the black-haired woman sat cross-legged peering over the edge of the cloud, her red cloak flying out behind her in the slip stream. Each time the wind blew with extra ferocity, she would wince back slightly as if afraid of being bucked off the fluffy suspended pillar. The white-haired girl would also make a concerned gesture whenever this happened, looking as if to get up and jump off after her fallen friend. After a particularly violent gust of wind, Weiss Schnee raised her head and spoke quietly to herself.

"He never said anything about rain."

Ruby looked over; it was clear that she had seen Weiss' lips move but hadn't heard her over the gale but had interpreted what she'd said anyway. Placing both of her hands down on the cloud in front of her, Ruby spoke in a high, slightly frantic sounding voice, that betrayed her cool demeanour from before. Weiss suspected from this that her glances down towards the earth had not been of reckless enjoyment of their situation, but of nervousness.

"Up p-please, Nimbus!"

In an instant the cloud reared and shot diagonally upwards straight through the clouds. There was a great shriek of shock from both the women as the cold water splashed their exposed skin but stopped immediately when Nimbus broke surface and they could see the sun again. The distant setting sun cast a radiant light down on the swirling fog beneath the small cloud. The sound of rolling thunder was still audible but sounded farther away now they were tis high up. Though they were now drenched with water from the cloud, Ruby and Weiss had both been soaked anyway by the long journey anyway, so they rejoiced at having the view of the sunset, a nice change from the stormy foreboding skies. The speed of Nimbus combined with the fleeting sunlight soon took its toll, and in time both the girls were dry again, though they still shivered from being so high up.

"Do you think we can trust him?" Weiss asked abruptly. The question hung in the air for a few moments before Ruby answered, crossing her legs and arms with a troubled look on her face.

"I dunno, he didn't look like him, but I'd recognise that voice anywhere. In any case, he had that cane, and nobodies that good a thief. But all the same it's a lot to take in, Blake's old partner, Ozpin and Salem, the gods wiping out humanity…" Ruby trailed off into silence, glancing down at the fluffy expanses of the cloud that was her and Weiss' ride. Knowing how this subject must be torturing Ruby's mind, Weiss didn't particularly feel like pressing the point. Shifting slightly on the cloud, Weiss cleared her throat and changed the subject.

"Things at Beacon must be worse than ever if Ozpin was willing to let all of that slip, although it doesn't see like the relics are the big prize anymore." Weiss still recalled the status of the streets before she had left her school with her amputee friend in tow. If things were worse than that…she didn't want to think about how the teachers were doing, not to mention the other teams. Coming back to reality, Weiss realised that she had upset herself in a bid to not upset her teammate and mentally kicked herself for this before changing the subject yet again. "H-Handy that they had this cloud thing though, but I was surprised that I was allowed to ride it and Blake wasn't." Ruby shivered as Weiss finished, the memory of that painful moment still haunted her, to think she had been fused with someone like…that!

Weiss smiled amusedly "You're going to have to forgive her eventually, your team leader-"

"It's not like I'm immature or anything!" said Ruby in a shrill voice, her staring silver eyes very close to Weiss', "She didn't say anything Weiss, it was the fact that she said nothing! Pure! Radio! SILENCE!" Weiss blinked and her leader was slumped on the other side of the cloud, hugging her own knees and pouting, the heiress was not a fan of Ruby's new ability to move faster than the eye could see. The conversation back on the lookout had been awkward to say the least, but it had been enlightening as well. In any case they now had a path forward.

* * *

 **After an unexpected series of revelations from their ex-headmaster, team RWBY received a nasty shock from Mr. Popo regarding the Witch Salem's possible motives. Weiss remembered the worried look on the dark features as he explained the long history of evil people seeking to misuse those wish balls that Goku had mentioned. That nugget of information coincided with another unfortunate detail, the only thing that scorpion man had croaked out under Popo's…questioning. That weird tentacle thing that had been attacking Goku could apparently drain one of their memories to be viewed via a twin. Goku knew about the dragon spheres and where to find them and what they looked like and now so did Salem.**

 **The news that there existed relics that could grant any wish had been a nasty shock for Ozpin, as well as the kid he was now inhabiting 'Oscar', who was just confused about who they all were and why he was there and why the short red head kept calling him 'Lil Oz' and laughing hysterically. Ozpin agreed that while the relics were powerful and necessary in his deal with the gods, a chance to wish for anything she wanted put Salem in an unfortunate position of absolute power over all of Remnant and maybe even the gods themselves. Weiss had found it difficult to think about all this information while hearing her old teachers voice coming out of a small child, it made the whole conversation feel surreal. Her injuries had only just been healed by Buu, Ruby and Yang had been fawning over this new kid that seemed to be switching between boy and huntsman at random intervals. Blake wasn't even paying attention to Oscar at all, she was stood stock still the whole exchange looking over at that white fang girl with a puzzled look on her face.**

 **After the inhabitants of the lookout had calmed down and with the two prisoners secured, it had been decided that the team would have to find the drake circles first. It made sense that if they could even find one and destroy it then the world would be safe from Salem's reckless will. But the problem stood that Goku had stormed off, and he alone knew what they had to look for. Popo was able to provide a description, seven orange glass balls embroidered with small dark orange stars numbered one to seven, but that was all. Their only recourse was to journey across the ocean to the place where a device called the Dragon radar was apparently located in the ruins of an old city in the west of Remnant.**

 **The fact that Salem would undoubtedly know about this as well meant they had needed to leave as soon as possible. It was then that Mr. Popo decided to introduce team RWBY to the 'Flying Nimbus cloud'. By calling out that name, the small yellow cloud zoomed out of the sky and stopped before the girls at waist height. It took some persuading to get anyone to climb aboard this apparently solid cloud, Yang and Blake couldn't do it at all. Popo explained that it was to do with innocence of the heart, so nobody was surprised that Ruby could stand atop the cloud looking pleased with herself, Weiss was a little surprised that she was permitted to climb up but was more confused as to the other half of her team. Yang was smirking in a manner than made it clear why the cloud didn't consider her 'innocent', and only once she and Ruby were at least half a mile away from the lookout did it finally click for the team leader, and her screams would have been audible to all those above and below if not mistaken for the distant thunder.**

* * *

The sun was nothing but a great sanguine line on the horizon when Nimbus lurched and began its decent. Neither Ruby nor Weiss knew how the cloud knew where it was going but were not particularly concerned about it. According to the compass on Weiss' scroll, they were and had been going west for the entire journey. It was unfortunately cold and wet going back through the clouds, but they didn't have much time to lament the cold. The sight below drove the cold out of their minds. The landscape below Nimbus was an ancient industrial marvel, a vast metropolis of tall buildings, so tall in fact that the cloud had to steer hard to avoid collisions with their greying cracked surfaces and dark cracked windows. The street level below was overgrown and completely deserted, although the cars left scattered across the road gave the impression that those who once inhabited the area left in a hurry. Discarded effects littered the ground, groceries spilling from bags and visibly rotting, tatters of clothes blowing across the road like tumbleweeds. All the hallmarks of a once vibrant human society overrun by the creatures of grimm. The flying Nimbus cloud weaved through the dim quiet streets like a phantom, steering at its own behest for it apparently knew where it was going. Popo had simply told it to go to somewhere known as 'Capsule Corp'.

"What is this place?" Ruby asked, looking around at the desolation with the same sad eyes as when she had visited the ruins of the failed Veil extension. The combination of the wet and chilly weather with the silent deserted city made the whole place feel like the beginning of a crime drama, or a cheesy horror movie.

"I think it was called Westopolis" said Weiss, looking down and noticing the eerie creaking sound of a discarded pram rolling in the wind, before returning to the article she had open on her scroll. "I think it was a settlement constructed some time before humanity was wiped out. Apparently, this city housed some of the most advanced scientific research in the world. The city survived but the humans that re-emerged were primitive, and they destroyed all they could gather together, accusing it of being witchcraft. Nobody could find anything salvageable after those purges and couldn't understand what they did find." Weiss sighed and looked back up at the direction they were travelling. "I guess that by the time all four kingdoms were in contact with each other, everybody just assumed this place was a settlement that fell to the grimm in our time and stayed away."

"Well at least that makes our job easier." Said Ruby bracingly. "if nobody's come here in ages, then there's a good chance that the radar is undamaged." She thought they were fortunate to not have encountered any grimm so far, she surmised that they most likely lost interest in this area due to the lack of human feeling to draw them in. She wondered how many people had been driven out of here before the gods made that horrible decision to revenge themselves on Salem. The whole thing troubled her greatly, Ruby had never much cared for the idea at all but now that she knew that the gods were real and not just legends, she began to question their reasoning. Surely a god is supposed to protect the things it creates, not destroy. But the god of life stood by while everyone was wiped out. From cursing Ozpin and Salem with permanent life to wiping out a whole species and threatening to do it again, Ruby was starting to consider the possibility of collecting the dragon balls herself for a chance to speak to these 'Gods'.

After a few more minutes of flying, Ruby spotted the large circular building with the sign on the domed roof 'Capsule Corp'. Of all the structures the girls had seen so far, this one was the most damaged, the roof was patchy and misshapen, and the walls had so many holes that it was a miracle that the old place was still standing. Ruby's hopes of the radar's safety wilted slightly at the sight of the dilapidated structure; she gripped her Crescent rose a little tighter as the Flying Nimbus made to stop at the buildings long grassed foyer.

Hopping down from the cloud, Ruby and Weiss took in the scenery for a moment before entering. The building itself was in a large clearing in the city with tall buildings surrounding them. Weiss guessed this was the city centre, and the idea of being surrounded by tall pillars made her feel uncomfortable, like they were surrounded. She also had certain reservations about entering a building that looked like it was structurally on its last legs, but if the radar was going to be anywhere, it would be in there.

Ruby moved forward a few steps before she realised Weiss wasn't following her and turning around saw the heiress standing upright with a stricken look on her face. Her hands were bawled into tight fists at her sides and her eyes were looking straight into Ruby's, deliberately not looking at the green blade pressed up against her throat. Ruby felt her own fists clench instinctively but heard something behind her that caused the silver eyes to swivel to the open doorway of the domed house. The persistent metallic clunk growing louder by the seconds gave the impression that someone in full armour was walking down the halls of the old house, but out of the dark doorway stepped a shiny silver foot attached to-

"You!" Ruby murmured, her face contorting with vicious dislike. As the figure stepped further out of the shadows, more was revealed. A pair of brown shorts cropped to just above the silvery metallic knee, a muscular shirtless torso with a pair of grey fingerless gloves being the only clothing worn besides a pendant around the figures neck. A thin, conspicuous face with cold grey eyes and messy grey hair. He may have changed his clothes and bulked up a little, but Ruby would never forget the guy who framed her sister for violent assault. The right hand of Cinder: Mercury Black.

"Nice place, huh?" Mercury said, as though Ruby had said nothing. "Not a whole lot inside mind you, I guess whoever made that thing stashed it away pretty good." Mercury took a single step closer and Ruby was somewhat unnerved by his total lack of reaction to the rain.

"I guess that's you then Emerald?" Ruby called out to the person holding Weiss who didn't answer before her captive did in a small voice.

"Yeah, it's her. I'd recognise that terrible cheap perfume anywhere."

"Shut up!" rang out a familiar voice from behind Weiss' smiling face that revealed it was Emerald after all. Ruby let out a small laugh at her obvious giving away of her identity and addressed her shirtless partner.

"So why are you two here? You mentioned looking for something?"

Mercury smiled, his expression becoming greedier by the second. "yeah, we are. You see, me and Emerald were thieves for a while, and we know a thing or two about the patterns of thieves. Returning to the scene of the crime is a common one." Ruby was very aware of Mercury's slow paces toward her and the shortening distance between her and Weiss.

"How did you two get here anyw-"

"We know that the radar is here." Emerald barked, interrupting Ruby's question, and Mercury finished his partners statement. "And we know you found it first. Hand it over and this won't hurt that bad."

The silence made the rain sound like a barrage of hard blows against the ancient street. Ruby couldn't hold back a smirk at the threat. "Sorry to disappoint you but we just got here, and we were looking for relics, I don't know what this radar is. By the way If you wanted a rematch with Yang, you're in luck. She decided not to come this time."

Mercury's brow twitched and his expression went from smug to furious with jarring, almost inhuman speed. His voice had also become rougher, more charged with hatred. "Don't interfere Emerald, I wanna handle this." Mercury stopped moving forward and began rubbing his knuckles in a threatening manner.

"You sure you _can_ handle this?" said Ruby with a wry smile.

"If I can't trash your whore sister, her puny little sister will do for now. Interesting that she isn't here, given her track record, I think this is the first time she ever decided not to co- "

Mercury never got his full insult out as the pale fist connected with his face and sent him clattering to the floor in a heap several feet back, the shock of the impact caused a series of disquieting creaking sounds from the old house.

"W-what?!" exclaimed Emerald, peering over Weiss' shoulder. "Why did, but how did she-" But like her partner, Emerald was cut off by a hard blow. Weiss had used her high heeled shoe to stamp on Emeralds foot as hard as she could. This caused the blade at Weiss' neck to slacken just the right amount for the heiress to get a vicious elbow strike into Emeralds gut, drew her rapier in the confusion and sent the green haired thief away with a blast of fire. It didn't damage her much, as the flames didn't catch, but Weiss had gotten what she wanted. She stood upright and combat ready, her blade held firmly in front of her.

"I probably should have mentioned it." She said with her own devious smile as a fork of lightning flashed between the red hood and the heiress. "I wouldn't discuss stuff like that with her at the moment. Somewhat of a…touchy subject."

* * *

 ** _Hi, sorry for the long wait._**

 ** _The next chapter is basically done and will be up some time next week._**

 ** _Thanks for bearing with me._**

 ** _Johnathan._**


	23. Season 3: Lost and Found

A small tree stood in the centre of a lush, crisply cut lawn. It was squat, fruitless and a slightly darker shade of green in the leaves from the lighter surroundings. It would normally be vibrant with colourful fruit, but the bows were bare of all but a small furry creature. It was holding something in its hands and gnawing on it, while keeping its brown hairy body supported with its feet and tail. It was a monkey, a monkey who went by the name Bubbles. The nut in his paws cracked, sending a few specks of shell sailing down the trunk, to land upon a head of spiky black hair. Not far off from the tree, stood a small varnished picnic table. Sitting at this table was a short, odd looking man kicking the air with his little legs and looking extremely miffed. He had a pair of jet-black Pince-nez on his stubby nose and a black had atop his blue head, out of which poked a pair of long black antennae, like some great blue beetle. He pounded the table with his short arms and gritted his teeth.

"Darn him!" He murmured furiously to himself, in a ridiculous voice that made him sound like the muscles in his cheeks were numb and useless. "There's only two left in my galaxy, and I get the worst one! People respected the name King Kai once, did ya know that!?" The question trailed away into silence, and this angry man shot a furtive, challenging look at the tree, realising that none but the monkey was paying any attention.

King Kai felt very justified in his anger at this latest injustice. Long ago, he had often welcomed a Saiyan onto his planet in other world so he could train, but his patience had been tested repeatedly by the idiot's recklessness and lack of respect. It got to the point where his planet was basically used as a meat shield, just to save one measly little planet in the north quadrant. True it had been restored with the dragon balls, but that was before the Saiyan did something so reprehensible, so foul, that King Kai swore that he would never repeat what it was. But he had banished the Saiyan that day and set up measures so that if he were to return, he would not want to stay long. This had been effective up to now, but there had been one eventuality that he had not foreseen, and it was moping behind the tree that Bubbles liked to play in.

Vegeta had died, and possessing a charisma that the Kai would never have expected from him, had talked King Yama into letting the stubborn prince keep his body and travel to his planet to train. King Kai had screamed down his antennae that he had not been in favour of this, as it was ridiculous on multiple fronts. For one, Vegeta was way stronger than King Kai was now so there was nothing left for Vegeta to learn, and secondly Vegeta was originally meant to go down below for a lifetime of slaughter. At first, he thought that he might like to know about the Kaioken, but he was wrong. His assertions of Vegeta's guilt also were blown off by the fact he saved a few earthlings in his time as well, and apparently sacrificed his life to save one.

In his opinion, King Kai thought that for all that annoying pest's faults, Vegeta was by far a worse guest. Not only was he rude and obstinately immune to the anti-Saiyan measures, but he wasn't even enough fun to laugh at the best jokes in the northern quadrant. In fact, it was hard to even imagine it, but the stuffy old prince seemed more uptight than usual, not even Bubbles was going near him. King Kai directed his stubby nose towards Vegeta's half concealed profile and sighed. It gave the impression of dread, the fear of something oncoming and inevitable, and all the nastier for it. King Kai had to admit that it kind of put him on edge too, if something could worry Vegeta, it would certainly worry him. But what could possibly-

The thought was interrupted by a sudden presence, a life force emanating from somewhere above the planet. King Kai twitched his antennae and located the stranger in an instant. Vegeta did not move a muscle as King Kai looked up and saw a grey shape floating unsupported in the sky above his tiny planet. The energy felt different somehow, but there was no mistaking that unkempt black hair. The little man had only a second to react, it was something about the way the figure was positioned…and that spiking energy… SMASH!

Splintered wood and debris scattered in every direction following the ear-splitting sound of a meteor crashing into the bench. Even though King Kai avoided any grievous bodily harm, he was still sent flying into the shade of the tree, which Bubbles fell out of a moment later due to the shockwave. King Kai slowly got back to his feet, dusting himself down, picking fallen leaves off his clothes and swearing under his breath. Only after wiping his glasses clean with his sleeve could he see the perpetrator clearly. There in the brown smoky crater where King Kai's antique table used to be, was a man with black unkempt hair, and jet-black eyes.

The tiny man's blue hands bawled into fists, as his anger bubbled to the surface. His teeth were bared, and the turquoise skin was quickly turning the colour of beetroot. This was the last time he would ever tolerate Saiyan's on his world. That table had been an irreplaceable house warming gift from princess snake. He would give them both a piece of his mind this time. But as the tiny king glared furiously at the man who had stomped out of the furrow in the ground, and was now striding towards him, the fury stumbled somewhat on confusion. The purple face, the gritted and bared teeth, and the fiery eyes that King Kai had upon his own face was being reflected quite exquisitely upon the newcomer's own visage. He also noticed that he was going at a steady pace and was showing no signs of slowing down, and in mere moments, the face of King Kai and Son Goku were level. The stark difference in their heights was not a problem because Goku had, to King Kai's utter bewilderment, grabbed his collar and hoisted him up. He hung there like an oversized fruit borne of the tree, looking straight into the cold fury of those dark eyes.

"Where is he?" He said, in a voice of forced calm. The short man opened his mouth before he had anything to say, the grip that Goku had on him was painful. Before King Kai could gather his wits to say anything, Goku made an angry sort of 'tut' through his clenched teeth and shook the collar violently a single time. He repeated the question, and with none of the previous restraint. "WHERE IS HE!?"

In a swift motion, Vegeta stepped out from behind the tree, straight backed and looking alarmed. Whatever he had expected, he had not thought the Kai was to be harmed, and certainly not by Kakarot. The fool was beside himself. He felt no concern for the Kai but did not feel like he deserved this kind of abuse, nor did he think that he would tolerate anymore crap from Kakarot after his last visit. The moment he was in the open, the two sets of black eyes snapped into an icy contact, and King Kai fell back to the floor with a gasp of relief.

Goku and Vegeta did not speak, but they maintained still eye contact for a single moment. In that moment, the prince did his best to read the clowns intentions through his energy. He thought that Kakarot's anger would betray that information and would assist him in further action. But to Vegeta's amazement, he could sense absolutely nothing. Kakarot was not letting anything slip, and as he began to stride in the prince's direction, Vegeta felt his fists twitch compulsively. He was not afraid of Kakarot, not in the slightest but there was something in his demeanour that made the steady and consistent footfalls ominous to Vegeta.

"Kaka…"

WHAM!

Vegeta was knocked off his feet and sent flying backwards before he could even get out a single word. The force of the impact sent Vegeta cascading into the sky above King Kai's world, and the increased gravity made what happened next hurt even more. In a flash, Goku was above the prince, and his hands were together in a double hammer-fist.

"A HEART ATTACK?!" he roared, before smashing Vegeta back to the earth with an almighty blow that shook the whole planet. The dust cloud that followed this was even bigger than Goku's entrance, and so was the crater. King Kai watched on in horror at the new desolation of his planet, all at the hands of that Saiyan. But there was something different about Goku, something scary. He had seen Goku mad, he had seen Goku furious, but his anger had always been unquestionably righteous. Even when he had first become a super Saiyan, all he had been thin king about was his friend Krillin and his son Gohan. But this was different, he seemed to be spiteful in his anger this time around. He only hoped that Vegeta was prepared for him, as Goku descended into the hole that he had just punched in the soil.

Vegeta had already risen to his feet, his renewed body accommodating for the harsh environment. His mind however was reeling, he had just been sucker punched by Kakarot! Why was this fool attacking with such anger?! He had expected confusion, even mockery but nothing like this. He only had a moments reprieve before Kakarot was upon him again, and his fist connected with Vegeta's chin before he had time to react. The prince cried out as he became airborne once again, with the furious old man in hot pursuit. Goku raised his hand and sent a yellow energy wave at the shape above him, but this time, Vegeta was ready for it. Twisting in mid-air, he smacked the ball of shining light straight back at the advancing Kakarot, who himself coiled his shoulders to avoid it. His fist once again flew at Vegeta, who blocked the hard punch with a two armed cross-guard.

"YOU HAD A HEART ATTACK!?"

The question registered in Vegeta's mind this time, and as both he and Goku broke apart and hung in mid-air, Vegeta answered him.

"What are you!? That's part of it, but you don't know everything - Stop that, what are you trying to do Kakarot?!" Vegeta barked back, it was difficult to do so as every now and then, Kakarot was making that same furious 'tut' noise and throwing another ball of energy his way. He was smacking them out of the way, but they were making it very hard to focus on explaining. Kakarot shouted him down between energy waves, sounding madder than before.

"SO, YOU WALKED! INTO THE TIME CHAMBER! AND DIDN'T THINK! IT! WAS! STUPID!?"

Goku's final energy wave was made with two hands, and Vegeta decided to dodge rather than block. The energy went sailing over his head into the distant sky, away from the planet. But when he looked back at the fool attacking him, Kakarot had vanished. At the same time Vegeta felt a sudden pressure around his left ankle and, looking down saw the pale fingers clamping around him. The next thing he knew, the ground was inches from his widening eyes. It was only due to his training and youthful form that Vegeta was able to plant his hands in the grass, and flip forward onto his feet, and dive to one side. This was just in time as it turned out, because Kakarot went sailing past while still in a flying kick pose. Scraping his own fingers through the earth, Goku skidded to a halt a couple of yards from Vegeta. He was panting, clearly affected by the strain of the feats he was performing, unlike Vegeta who was feeling more in shape than he could remember. The idiot was muttering feverishly to himself under his breath as he glared into Vegeta's eyes with his own wild ones. The prince thought he could make out what he was saying.

"Didn't know…yeah right…bastard…liar…promised…"

Vegeta couldn't believe what he was hearing, even less that he was hearing it from Kakarot. But years of experience had sharpened the prince's senses and intellect, and so he could see before him the chain of events that had led to this moment: Their wives passing's, making his vows, moving to that farm, training and protecting humans until that short one had arrived with cat gi-

Vegeta's eyes opened wider than before as he looked at Kakarot, gritting his teeth at the sudden truth. The silence stretched on as the two Saiyan's looked at each other and King Kai, who was now watching from behind the tree, also had his teeth firmly pressed together. That reckless idiot was gonna make Goku destroy his whole planet-again!

But Vegeta's mind was now miles away from the Kai's well-being. He was getting a nagging feeling that the oath he had taken with Kakarot after they had buried his wife was involved with this. That oath which had been the plan for their final demise. But why would he be so angry about that? It was he, Vegeta that had originally been against the idea, an idea that Kakarot had come up with!

"Kakarot…It's alright. I can live with this, it's really not that big a deal."

At these words, Goku roared and pelted at Vegeta, his energy palpable, glowing white all around him. Vegeta blocked the straight punch, but the kick that followed it buckled him, and his guard slackened for a single moment, which was all Goku needed for the second punch. Vegeta braced his chest, as he had done in life in fear of his heart problem, but found that he only skidded back a few feet, leaving two parallel trails in the dirt with his feet. Though the strike had hurt, what had surely meant to be a bone breaking hard punch had barely even scraped Vegeta's pectorals. The reason was obvious from Kakarot's panting and clear aura, the fool was not fighting at full strength. Even in his anger, he held back. When Vegeta had spoken, his anger seemed to spike into a fury, his face was contorting like a rabid dog.

"Not a big deal, huh?" He spat, now in a more articulate but no less wrathful exclamation. "You really think I give a crap about that? You really don't care, do you?!"

Vegeta's confusion was starting to make his own temper rise. He was not renowned for his patience and could feel the quivering of his furrowed brow, as well as the pull of his revitalised energy. "Then what is this about? Out with it Kakarot!"

Instead of an answer, Vegeta received another of those irritated sounds from Goku's teeth and as his outline quivered for a split second, Vegeta braced himself for their attacks to turn fast. As predicted, he was dodging and blocking quick blows from Kakarot within a blink of an eye. This was when King Kai completely lost sight of what was happening. The two men had begun to fight so intensely that the Kai could no longer maintain visual contact. Only their energy could be detected. Vegeta's felt the same as ever it did, strong and without quarter. It was Goku's energy that felt more interesting as it felt restrained, as if the idiot was deliberately holding it at bay. King Kai was wondering why he would do such a thing against his long-standing rival, when he caught a few bits of what they were saying and turned to listen.

"YOU AND I BOTH KNOW WHAT THE TIME CHAMBER IS LIKE! YOU WENT IN THERE TO DIE!" He heard Goku scream at Vegeta.

"What!? T-that's ridiculous, I did no such thing!" Vegeta retorted, looking outraged at such an accusation. "I was training the blonde, you know that!"

"LIAR! YOU GAVE IN, WHEN YOU SWORE YOU WOULDN'T, YOU PROMISED!"

Goku vanished via the instant transmission, and Vegeta couldn't tell where he had gone until it was too late, until he felt the fist connect with the top of his skull. He rocketed back to earth in earnest this time, and the dust cloud was big enough to skirt Goku's boots, who was still airborne and looking down at the crater he just made. As the deafening sound of the impact subsided, Goku found his attention diverted by a sudden screeching sound like a rabid animal being antagonised sounded from somewhere below him, so he turned to see a vague black circle flailing down on the planet surface.

The short man was no longer hiding from his visitors, he stood on the edge of the crater where the bench used to be, and his clenched fists were as scarlet as his face. "WOULD YOU BUMS STOP MESSING UP MY WORLD FOR ONE SECOOOOOND!"

Even at the height of his own rage, King Kai couldn't help but faulter at the look of murderous fury on the Saiyan's face. It was so out of place it made his spine tingle, the twitching contorting features without a speck of energy showing. This wasn't the usual anger, it wasn't the usual Goku. Without a reply, He sped down to where Vegeta stood in the new crater. He had been quick enough to brace for impact, so the damage had been minimal; Vegeta had found it quite easy to shake it off and get up. His temper however had snapped, he was done being this clown's punching bag. It was time to pull his trump card.

As he landed, Goku and Vegeta's eyes met; they looked at each other, the angry Saiyan's too incensed to speak. Vegeta noticed the same thing that King Kai had, that Goku's expression was twisting and twitching, but the absence of energy just made him look like he had gone off the deep end. The behaviour bizarrely reminded the prince of a Saiyan during a primal Ozaru transformation. This was impossible of course given Kakarot's lack of a tail, but perhaps that expression was something to do with experiencing great power. Vegeta himself remembered the power as a kind of strain, like holding back a mountain. Then it clicked, and Vegeta realised what was irritating Kakarot. He straightened up, and looked down at the point between them, at the dead centre of the crater. A flash of light, and a small smattering of dust revealed a perfectly straight line in the dirt dividing the crater between the two men, Goku looking livid on one side, and Vegeta looking strangely calm on the other. His eyes were half lidded, and he was concentrating, focusing on a specific mental image, the image of a hand…falling limp in his own…

Goku assumed a low stance and finally allowed his energy to show, it burst forth from him as red fire that engulfed his body and dyed his own form a dark maroon hue. Vegeta recognised the Kaioken too well, but knew it was hopeless. It was over, and he knew the outcome one way or another.

"The moment you cross that line, I quit holding back Kakarot. Consider your next move carefully. Attack me again, you die and that will be the end of it, got it?!" said Vegeta, in a raised voice, but not quite a shout. He had his eyes fully closed now, and he could hear a beeping sound.

Yet another of those irritated noises from Goku as the fire grew around him. YOU…I HATE YOU!" Goku started forward, about to launch himself at the man he hated. The hand, so small and weak, teetered on the edge of the gloved hand…and it fell. Vegeta opened his green eyes, and for the second time, allowed flame to consume him. In an instant, the short prince's hair and body was glowing gold and burning with a fiery yellow aura. The light seemed to glow beneath his skin, giving it a pale complexion, and the spiked hair now stood a little more firmly. Goku stopped in his tracks immediately, there was a kind of numb disbelief In the Saiyan's eyes, anger completely forgotten. It returned a moment later, but that restrained look of fury came back with redoubled force, and Vegeta sighed at the result that he knew would come.

"Your move, Clown." He said, with a hint of triumph escaping his lips. Goku looked ready to explode with rage, he opened his mouth, but Vegeta spoke first.

"You and I both know that you aren't willing to go this high, so give this up." Vegeta said, slowly and clearly.

Goku spat "Bastard…"

"Don't take your own weakness out on me Kakarot, now are you going to let me explain or not?"

Goku's whole body seemed to reject what he did next, his shoulders shook, and he was breathing so hard that spit flew through his gritted teeth. Very slowly, he straightened up, and just as slowly, the red glow and hue faded back to non-existence. Once again, he looked old and shabby. The Saiyan seemed to collect himself but looked at Vegeta with the same venom as when he had been in a rage.

"Spare me. I don't wanna hear anymore." He said, in a horrible forced calm. He turned to fly out of the crater.

"Wait a second!" Vegeta lost his composure slightly, and he moved forward a few paces towards Goku. The Saiyan's head spun around like a whirlwind, and Vegeta noticed his foot was an inch from the line that he had made in the ground. He looked from his foot to Goku and saw that his anger had changed. Its no longer a burning force behind his eyes and more of a smouldering pile of ash. A kind of furious calm had come over Kakarot. He spoke in the quietest, deadliest, and most alien voice that Vegeta had ever heard from him. It was cruel, bitter, and worst of all…it was a voice of defeat.

"You left…like all the others. I was counting on you, and you betrayed me the first chance you got. But its fine, I see that now. It was foolish to expect anything else and anyway; I can do this alone. Nothing's changed…I don't need you."

Vegeta swallowed hard, he considered protesting but knew the fool wouldn't believe that he had not died on purpose. But he found those last words deeply troubling, what was the idiot planning to do now? Knowing that he couldn't move any closer, Vegeta found himself at a loss for what to say. He hadn't planned for this. "Y-you're making a mistake Kakarot…"

Some of the fire roared at him, the black eyes of the Saiyan flashed as his scowl intensified. "Mistake?... The only mistake I ever made…was trusting someone like you." Goku turned back around and began to ascend out of the hole. He then spoke without turning to look at Vegeta. "Don't you dare talk to me about weakness. I don't ever want to see you again." He disappeared via instant transmission immediately after saying this and was gone without a trace.

…

Vegeta stood in that crater for a long time, only moving when prompted. King Kai leaned over the side and peered down into the vast furrow in his home. His stomach seemed to drop a few more inches every time he looked at it.

"What the heck got into him!?" King Kai yelled down at Vegeta, who a moment later, allowed his own aura to fade and looked up towards the source of the question. Once again, King Kai found himself in the icy stare of a Saiyan warrior, but instead of fury, this face spelled a troubled and confused outlook.

"This isn't good." Said Vegeta, with a solemn glance at the place where Goku had stood not too long ago. 'I came here because I knew he would find me.' Vegeta thought to himself. 'But I had no idea he would be in such a state. This could get worse if he runs around with those thoughts in his head…' Vegeta seemed to come out of his revelry after a while, and to King Kai's slight surprise, chose to walk out of the pit instead of fly. At the pace he was going it took several long moments before King Kai had a far shorter Saiyan standing before him. His face was tough and resolute, whatever he was thinking he had his mind made up. "I've changed my mind. I do need to learn something from you."

King Kai investigated that serious expression, and his own face hardened. He knew what the prince was planning, he knew what had to be done. But Goku was really upset, and the prince had no sense of timing. How would even he teach this stoic ghost at the feast how to tell good jokes?


End file.
